Rilena stared at the notes she was decoding a week later on September fifteenth…a Saturday of all days. She was quickly working through the process and only being mildly frustrated. Her and Ratchet explained to the kids that they needed to be more cautious and learn that not everything was something they could charge into. Things took planning, consideration and recon, the kids seemed to understand and promised they'd come to their parents if they had any more ideas.
Ratchet, Clank, Leon, Qwark, Conner and a few others were working through possible plans and scenarios to see if it would be possible to save Derek. They were at a standstill without any more information though. Riley, Ratchet Junior and Ragar had all been focused on minor tasks around the basecamp or they helped out Elaris and Leon with some tasks. From what she was last told, Riley, RJ and Ragar were currently helping Takeria in finding a planet that might have spare parts for the ship Rilena was wanting fixed.
Ratchet promised Rilena he'd check on them after he helped Leon and Karla in the lab, they were keeping an eye on Kyle so he didn't try sneaking into her office. He had already tried earlier that week and it was when Riley was with her in the office. The little girl was crying so much that it woke up Clink and he went into attack mode. He nearly tore Kyle's arm off and bruised a few ribs, as well as shooting a hole into one of Kyle's legs. The Lombax had been treated and told one more mistake and he'd be locked up for a few weeks, maybe a few month's.
She sighed and leaned back, rubbing the area between her eyes, getting tired of seeing letters, numbers and symbols mixing together. She had been staring at it for several hours now and felt like her brain was fried. She heard the door to the office unlock and Takeria walked in, laying a few files down. "Everything okay sugah?" The black cat asked in her country accent, making Rilena sigh. "I wish. My brain is fried." She muttered and Takeria gave a small smile, a fond look in her eyes.
"I think our Commander needs ta take a break." Takeria said, going around behind the chair and pulling it back. "Takeria, no, I need-" Takeira spun her around, put a finger against her lips and shook her head. "No Commander, you need a break. You've been working non-stop for the past week, have hardly eaten, hardly slept either I'm sure." She commented which made Rilena huff and slump back against the chair even more. Takeria always seemed to come in at the perfect time to force Rilena to take a break.
Seeing Rilena was admitting defeat, Takeria helped Rilena out of the chair and pushed her out of the room, smiling softly. Rilena smiled gratefully at Takeria and headed off, knowing her fellow Leopardis was simply looking out for her. It had been like this since Takeria was first brought onto Aurora, they were always close. She walked through the underground base, the large, covered ravine had a soft blue glow to it due to the power source below them, making her stop and look down the ravine.
'I need to go down there at some point and see how the core is doing.' Rilena thought, wondering how the power core was doing. The power core took energy directly from the planet and the garage above ground had solar panels on the roof which also transferred energy from the sun to the power core. They were careful in extracting energy from the planet's core, they didn't want it collapsing on them. She was tempted to go down right now but she was sure one of the guards would see her and let Takeria know. 'And that would be a tongue lashing I don't want to have.' The Leopardis thought, shaking her head and continuing on her way to find her kids and husband, they might be in the cafeteria by now.
As she got closer, she heard laughter and smiled; that was Ratchet's laugh. She entered the cafeteria, seeing Ratchet sitting with Qwark, the kids with Riley on Ratchet's lap, Leon, Cora, Brax and Elaris. "And then the next thing we knew, we were surrounded by Blarg," Qwark began dramatically as he told his story, the kids listening intently as some other in the cafeteria eavesdropped on the story. "Our weapons were drawn as we stared down the enemies, when suddenly...HE appeared!" Riley gasped, hugging her dad as RJ and Ragar both jumped, hugging their father as well as they stared wide eyed at Qwark. Rilena simply smiled, seeing Ratchet pull his sons closer, his tail wrapping around Riley's lap as a source of comfort.
Cora smiled and elbowed Brax, pointing to the kids and he chuckled, even as Elaris smiled as Clank sat beside Elaris on the table instead of the bench while Leon sat beside her. Leon smiled as well before he noticed Rilena and smirked, waving her over. "Rilena, over here!" He called to her, grabbing everyone's attention. "Mommy!" Riley called out with a bright smile, happy to see her mom. "Mom!" The twins called out as well, before the trio was off the bench and rushing toward her, RJ holding Riley's hand as they hurried over. They hardly saw her throughout the week due to her trying to decode the notes she found and they had missed her.
Even though they tried to see her throughout the week, after the stunt with Kyle, the kids were somewhat scared to enter the office Rilena used, even the twins. None of them could blame her though for her dedication to finish her work; if there was information about Drek and winning in that note, then they'd work toward it. Ratchet smiled and Leon got up, moving to the other bench as the kids pulled Rilena to the table, before they got back on the bench.
Ratchet Junior sat on his father's left, Riley on Rilena's lap and Ragar to his mother's right. "How are you feeling?" Ratchet asked, cupping Rilena's cheek and she sighed, she had bags under her eyes, they could all see it. "My brain is fried...I think." She muttered, leaning her head on Ratchet's shoulder, even as Riley frowned at her mother's exhaustion. Ratchet Junior frowned as well, as did his twin brother Ragar as they all wished they could help Rilena with her task, however only she knew how to decode the paper.
Ratchet, Elaris, Leon, Clank and others had looked it over but none of them even knew how to decode the complex written symbols and weird words, thus it was left to Rilena. She didn't have a problem with it...however it annoyed her because she would like to spend time with Ratchet and the kids, yet that didn't seem to be happening anytime soon. Suddenly a small plate of food was placed before her and she raised a brow, looking up at who gave her the plate and saw it was Elaris.
"You look like you need it." Elaris said softly, moving some of Rilena's hair aside and making the blue-gray Leopardis sigh with a nod, before she started eating. Elaris sat back down before pulling some files up on her tablet. "Have you decoded more from the notes?" Elaris asked with a tilt of her head, in which Rilena nodded, before swallowing. "Yeah, whoever left the note uses the same codes that I use, so it's not too hard to decode, it's just there's a lot." Rilena explained, before rubbing her neck.
"It seems like it's some kind of movement plan. It talks about Blarg movement, what planets are next and about weapon's that might have a possibility in piercing the Blarg's battlesuits and mecha's." Rilena explained, it was useful information but she was still decoding everything. "At least that's what I'm speculating from what I've decoded so far." She finished, taking another bite of her food. "Any information is good information." Qwark said with a sigh, making the others nod. "At least we have a lead. Do you need any help?" Elaris asked, yet Rilena shook her head.
"No, I got it handled. I will send the list of planet's to you after I'm done though." The Leopardis stated, making Elaris nod. The rest of lunch was spent with Qwark retelling Ratchet some of his more 'interesting' stories with the others listening, sometimes putting in their own thoughts. Rilena smiled as RJ, Ragar and Riley listened intently, even as Ratchet seemed mildly impressed by what Qwark had achieved. She knew the last thing Ratchet had remembered of Qwark was that he had been a coward, a bit of a credit stealer and overall never pulled his weight.
However, after fifteen years...Qwark had changed and she knew Ratchet was still trying to wrap his mind around it. Heck, it took her time to wrap her mind around the fact that Qwark had changed from a lazy, no-good sack of skin, to a battle-scarred, serious and true fighter. To be truthful, everyone had changed. Cora became more caring and compassionate; she guessed nearly losing one's life tended to show them where one falls short. Brax became more cautious, having lost so many limbs, he didn't need to lose anymore.
Elaris became a bit more down-to-earth and more stubborn and demanding. She didn't mean to be but she was tired of the war and wanted it to end and, in Elaris' eyes, everyone seemed to be falling short of her expectations. Qwark, obviously, became more serious and an actual fighter who no longer sought glory, only peace. Leon wasn't as laid back as once before, became more serious when out in the field and trained everyday...sometimes to exhaustion. Takeria was more observative and tended to act more rash now, something that annoyed Rilena.
Rilena though, knew that she, herself, had changed as well. In the beginning she was somewhat laid back, a great leader who was confident in her skills, never hesitated to do what was right and was always smiling. Now though, she knew she was different. She no longer smiled as often, was more serious and calculating, lost confidence in her leadership and hesitated on what she should do.
Yet watching as Ratchet interacted with their children had her feeling like her old self again; she had been smiling more, felt her confidence return and, while she was still serious and calculating, it was only when out in the field. With Ratchet back, everyone seemed to be gaining their positive qualities back. After they finished eating, Qwark, Cora and Brax headed to the training arena, waving bye as they left. Elaris said she was going to the Command Center, see how Conner and the others were doing.
Leon stood up to leave as well, stating he was going to head back to the engineering lab, make sure Kyle was still under watch and see if Karla had gotten anything to eat. When they were gone, Ratchet and the family headed back to the house. "Hey dad, do you like hologames?" RJ asked and Ratchet perked while Rilena giggled, he looked like his eighteen year old self again. "Of course!" Ratchet stated with gleeful eyes. "Oh dear." Clank muttered, shaking his head sadly.
At this rate, they'd never pull Ratchet away from the game.
Rilena giggled, shaking her head softly as she picked Riley up when her daughter held her hands up to her. "Clank, you should've seen this coming." Rilena said to the little war-bot, who sighed. Ragar picked Clank up as Ratchet Junior and Ratchet spoke about what games they could play. They entered their home and Ratchet Junior bolted toward the couch, sitting down and smiling at his dad. "Come on! I wanna see if you're as good as you say dad." Ratchet Junior challenged and Rilena laughed.
"Junior, I think you just bit off more than you can chew." Rilena replied as Riley held her mother's shirt tightly, snuggling against her mother's neck. Ratchet Junior just seemed confused...before he saw his dad's confident smirk and he gulped, ignoring Ragar's snickers. "Alright boy. Let me show you how your old man does." Ratchet sat down, accepting a controller from his son and they both waited as the game loaded. Ragar sat down on the recliner to watch, allowing Clank down but Clank merely sat back on his lap to watch.
Rilena shook her head fondly, letting Riley down and she headed to the couch as well, sitting beside her dad as Ratchet and Ratchet Junior began the game. Rilena headed into the kitchen to grab some drinks and snacks for everyone, before she heard metallic footsteps behind her. She turned around, seeing Clink hobble toward her, blue robotic eyes flashing. "Message boy?" She asked, kneeling to the small robot in which the robot nodded. Letting out an info-bot, Rilena grabbed it and went to the small table she had in the kitchen, sitting down in a seat as Clink got onto the table.
"Let's see what this says." She muttered, pressing a button to play the info. Drek smiled from where he sat in his giant battleship, a familiar Leopardis beside him, arms behind his back and face expressionless. "Hello everyone. It is I, your Emperor of the Galaxy, Drek." Drek called out. Rilena heard the game pause. "I hope that all my loyal subjects are enjoying themselves because I have a new order for everyone." Rilena cursed...what was Drek up to. "I have heard a little bit of...information about a certain group. A certain group...of Rebels." Rilena hissed, SHIT!
Derek looked at Drek, a snarl forming before he schooled his features once more as Drek turned toward him. "My son will be leading the investigation against the Rebels," Derek's eyes went wide in panic, "to ensure that these Rebels are wiped out!" Drek slammed his metallic hands on the table before him, destroying his desk. Rilena frowned, going stiff as she stared at the message playing. "While Derek leads the investigation, I have a reward for anyone who brings me the leader of the Rebels...Rilena." A picture appeared on the screen behind Drek.
"Dammit." Rilena muttered, biting her thumb a bit as her blue eyes filled with fear. "Anyone who brings me Rilena will get a reward. I ALWAYS reward my subjects." He snapped his fingers and the screen switched from Rilena's face to a pile of money, a battleship and an officer suit. "Anyone who brings Rilena to me gets a bucket-load of bolts, their OWN battleship for the Drek enterprises AND becomes Commander of that battleship." Drek said with a sinister smirk, his actual hands that were still flesh intertwining.
"WHAT?!" Rilena shouted but she wasn't the only one who said that. Ratchet, Ratchet Junior, Ragar, Riley and Clank all shouted that same thing, watching from behind her. "Mommy." Riley held her mother tightly, even as Rilena put a hand on her shoulder, eyes never straying from the info-bots screen. "It's okay sweetie, I'm still here. He's not going to get me as easily as he thinks." She said firmly, knowing that their allies and those across the galaxy wouldn't give her up so easily.
"If you call the number right now at the bottom of the screen, I'll be answering your calls. Any information you can give me on Rilena's whereabouts, even where you last saw her will be GREATLY appreciated." Drek said, leaning back against his chair, unaware of his son rolling his eyes. Drek smiled at the screen, brown eyes malicious, believing his subjects would be willing to hand her over. "Have a great day everyone." Drek said with a wave and the screen went black.
Rilena let the info-bot go, even as it shut down and went back inside Clink, who titled his head curiously. Ratchet placed his hands on Rilena's shoulders, leaning his head against her own as he nuzzled her head. Ratchet Junior and Ragar came upon her right side, even as Clank hopped onto the table beside Clink. Rilena lifted Riley onto her lap, sighing as her daughter hugged her tightly. "...I hate to say this since everyone wants me to take a break," They gave her their attention. "But I'm calling a meeting." She said softly, eyes determined as she growled.
They needed to stop him...and soon.
**(One Hour Later)**
Leon walked into the main meeting room with his wife Karla, and the Galactic Rangers. A few of General Zigas' men, a few Lombaxes, a few Fenriks and some others walked in after them, all looking curious as to what it was Rilena wanted to talk to them all about. Rilena was sitting in a chair, reminiscent of her days on Aurora where the Rebels were originally stationed with Ratchet to her right, RJ and Ragar to her left and Riley in her father's arms. Clank was on the table beside Clink, the info-bot next to them.
"We have a problem." Rilena said to everyone once everyone was in the room, all of them sitting in a chair as well. "What now?" Brax asked as he crossed his arms, wondering what happened this time. "Clink." Rilena said to the small dragon-like robot in which he turned the info-bot on. Everyone watched, getting more anxious and apprehensive with each sentence Drek spoke. At the end, Qwark stood up. "This is absurd!" He shouted, eyes blazing with anger.
"No one in their right mind would ever give you up, Rilena. No one!" He stated, he knew everyone in the galaxy was rooting for them to free them from Drek's tyranny. "But this time, Qwark," Elaris began, looking concerned as Qwark sat back down, "Drek is offering a very, VERY, generous reward." Qwark growled, hands clenching into fists as they rested on his knees. "We can't let our guard down." Cora said as she crossed her arms, looking contemplative. "If they ended up recognizing The Phoenix, we could be in trouble." She explained, making everyone else mumble and mutter to themselves, wondering how to get around this dilemma.
"It's me they are after," Rilena said as she rested her head against her right hand that was in a fist, "not you all. I wouldn't say let your guard down completely but I can assure you they won't be looking for you all." She finished softly, biting her lower lip. "I suggest you stay at base from now on." Leon said, making Rilena snap her eyes to him. "What did you say?" She said with a thin undertone of anger, as if DARING him to repeat his words. She slowly lifted her head from her fist, eyes locked on Leon. "I don't think I heard you correctly."
Leon narrowed his eyes at Rilena. "He's specifically after you, Rilena. You are his target, he just sent out a broadcast for you to be captured and, with a reward on the table, it'll only be a matter of time before someone becomes greedy enough to seek you out." He explained, crossing his arms as well. Rilena took a deep breath, before fixing Leon with a glare so dark everyone flinched, including Leon himself. "I will NOT hide like a coward. I'm tired of being afraid of him, I'm tired of wondering what his next plans are. I'm tired of running." She hissed, hands now gripping the armrests of her chair, teeth clenched in anger.
"He gets what he wants...but when he captures me, and I assure you he'll find a way…" She gave a wicked grin. "I have a few plans up my sleeve." Leon raised a brow...before his eyes widened. "You...you mean you…" Rilena smirked as she leaned back in her chair, interlacing her fingers as she crossed one leg over the other, elbows resting on the armrests. "All I have to do is attach the device to my com-glove, get my hand on his neck and inject the chip into his prosthetic neck." Rilena stated proudly, her smirk turning smug.
"Once that is accomplished, Elaris will get a notification that the device has been planted and she can hack into his brain and take control." She explained and Leon's jaw dropped while a few others spoke in excited tones. Ratchet was confused, as was Clank. "Um...mind explaining what's going on?" Ratchet asked his wife, making her look up at him. "Due to Drek being half robot now, I found out his brain can be hacked into." Rilena explained, looking proud of what she had learned.
"Three years ago, I found notes, just like the recent ones, that spoke of how Drek's brain is more like a computer than an actual brain and how he can store information." She pressed a button on the side of the left armrest and a mechanic arm came up, bringing a holographic screen and keyboard that she typed on. A few seconds later, the screen on the round table in the middle of the room lit up and a holographic message appeared. "It spoke about how Drek's prosthetic neck has a chip insert and a plugin." The odd letters, symbols and numbers began to change into normal words.
"He plugs himself into a storage terminal on his battleship where he stores all the information he has gathered there. If the chip I insert into his neck stays, we not only get access to control his body but we also get access to that terminal." Rilena explained and Ratchet was also surprised. "We still have to test it however." Elaris said and Rilena nodded. "It has taken us five years to make this single chip, we can't afford to have any mistakes. Once we get thorough testing done, we can move onto the next stage of infiltrating the ship and finding a way to inject the chip in him." Rilena said softly, turning the middle screen off and the arm moved back down, taking the holographic device with it.
"And if we don't find a way? What then?" Leon questioned warily and Rilena sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Then I'll bait him." She said and the room went silent. "Rilena, no!" Leon and Ratchet snapped out, making her growl. "It's only as a last resort." Rilena stated firmly. "Rilena, I'm not going to let a repeat happen!" Leon snapped out and she glared at him. "Didn't you hear me?! I said as a last resort!" Rilena snapped out, leaning forward and looking more like the Commander they all remembered from fifteen years ago.
"I'm not going to take any unnecessary risks. It's only after we've exhausted each and EVERY possibility that I would even CONSIDER being bait." Rilena finished explaining. Ratchet sighed, pinching the area between his eyes with the free hand that wasn't holding Riley. "How about I infiltrate the ship once it's finished?" Ratchet suggested. "WHAT?!" "Ratchet!" "Ratchet, no!" "DAD?!" He was meet with protests and he grumbled. "Drek doesn't know I'm back, he won't expect me and Clank appearing and it might throw him so off course that he makes mistakes and messes up." He explained and Rilena hummed.
"Throw him off focus so much he can't function properly." Rilena explained and Ratchet nodded. "Exactly. He'll be so panicked he'll halt his plans for a short time and try to rewrite all of them to deal with this new information. Giving us time to come up with a plan to get him." Ratchet explained and Rilena hummed, thinking a bit. "Rilena, you really can't be considering this?!" Leon shouted, throwing his arms out at Ratchet. "You just got him back!" He tried reasoning and Rilena sighed. "It's a possibility we can consider as we come up with other plans." Rilena commented.
She wasn't big on the idea either but they needed to consider ALL possibilities. "I'm not big on the idea...but I'll consider it." Rilena said and Ratchet sighed. "Better me than you." He stated and she scoffed fondly, giving him a loving smile. A few cooed and 'awed' at them, making them blush and clear their throats, before Rilena stood. "In the meantime, we'll come up with countermeasures for Drek's new plan on trying to capture me." She said softly, making everyone nod.
As everyone slowly filed out of the room, talking to one another about possible countermeasures, Leon and Karla walked toward Rilena and the family. "You're insane, I swear." Leon muttered sourly, frowning a bit yet Rilena merely shrugged. "We have to do what we can for right now. We'll come up with plans to avoid me being caught for right now." She explained before she got out of the chair and stretched, before looking at the time. "I should probably get some training in." Rilena mumbled, before looking at the kids.
"Do you all want to get some training in as well?" She asked them. RJ and Ragar looked at one another, before nodding and looking back at their mother. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea." RJ turned toward Riley. "I suggest going to Elaris and seeing if she can install some weapons on Clink." Ratchet Junior said to Riley who nodded. "I can take her there." Karla said as Ratchet set Riley down. Riley picked up Clink, before holding Karla's hand as Karla left with her, taking her to Elaris.
"We'll go on ahead to the training arena." Ragar said softly, leaving with his twin brother, leaving Ratchet, Rilena, Clank and Leon alone. Leon sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Are you sure you REALLY want to do this?" Leon questioned and she sighed. "Like I said, my capture is a last resort. I still need to do testing once the chip is finished but I'm not going to hide Leon." Rilena explained and he grumbled, shaking his head. "Alright...just...just be careful, okay?" He suggested of her and she nodded.
"I will be. I have reason to after all." Rilena said with a smile to Ratchet. "I have my husband, my kids and friends to think about." Rilena finished softly and Leon gave a small smile. "I'll take what I can get. I'll help Elaris with the chip when I have time." He said before leaving. Ratchet wrapped an arm around Rilena's waist, nuzzling her cheek and making her giggle. "Think anyone would mind if we're late to the training arena?" Ratchet teased, making her flush.
"Bad Ratchet." Rilena joked, flicking his nose and he laughed, kissing her before pulling back and pointing to his back. "Let's go Clank." He said to the small war-bot, who was frowning. "I would ask that you please refrain from making any more suggestive comments around me." He said, getting on Ratchet's back. "No promises buddy." Ratchet joked, before intertwining his fingers with Rilena's and they left the room, unaware of dark brown eyes watching them leave, a snarl on the face of who was watching them.
**(Training Arena, Rebel Base)**
As they entered the training arena, Ratchet's jaw dropped, eyes going wide and Rilena giggled at his expression. "Oh my." Clank said softly, jumping off Ratchet's back as he looked around. The place was HUGE! Probably as big as the cafeteria, or maybe a bit bigger. The cafeteria was about three hundred and sixty feet, the training arena looked bigger than that! "The training arena is about four hundred and fifty feet long, one hundred and sixty feet wide." Rilena explained, making Ratchet stare at her.
"We measured one day when we were bored." She explained and Ratchet gave her a blank expression. "Bored?" He questioned with a raised brow. "They wouldn't let me work on any of my commander duties. Qwark helped me when I mentioned it. Said he wanted to see how big it really was." Rilena explained, having Ratchet follow her to the center where Qwark was with the kids and Galactic Rangers, excluding Elaris who was likely with Conner and Leon working on the chip.
"Alright everyone," They heard Qwark say as they neared, "today we are going to work on our speed." He said with a smirk. Ratchet continued looking around, deciding to ignore Qwark for now. At the side farthest from the door they entered, to his left, he saw several shooting stalls, each stall had a combustor on the wall of the stalls. A target at the end of each stall and the shooting gallery was surrounded in bullet-proof glass so the bullets didn't wander around the arena should something go wrong.
To the right at the farthest end, he saw several people at training dummies, attacking them with weapons like proton hammers, raritanium quarterstaves, plasma blades, raritanium axes and other melee weapons. He also noticed wrenches like his omniwrench and the Lombax Praetorian Guard wrenches...like the one Azimuth had. Looking behind him from where they entered, he noticed to the left and right were, what he guessed, to be showers from everyone to use after training.
There was also a small obstacle course between the shooting gallery and training dummies, while to the left of the training dummies was what seemed to be a climbing rockwall. There were other training devices that Ratchet saw but didn't look at much as Qwark was soon yanking Ratchet toward him. "Ratchet, I want you to show your kids how fast you are." Ratchet twitched at first, looking at Qwark in surprise. "Pardon?" He asked as Qwark let Ratchet go, letting the Lombax regain his footing as he took a few steps back.
"I want you to run the obstacle course five times, showing your kids how fast you are." Qwark said with a smile. "If they have a time they need to surpass, it'll be motivation." He said and Ratchet hummed, looking at the obstacle course before smirking with a nod. "Compared to what I've gone through, this'll be a piece of cake." Ratchet said as he crossed his arms, confidence pouring from him. The twins smiled at one another and high-fived while Rilena smiled at Clank. "Then let's begin." Rilena said as she held a stopwatch up.
Let the challenge begin.
Chapter 6, goodness I'm working through these quickly. The story has been in development since 2016 though, so no surprise I'm wanting to post this up quickly. Anyways, this chapter is just a little longer because breaking this into two parts just didn't seem right. Felt better to post it all on one chapter here. After all, this all happens in the course of one day, so it made sense to post it all in one chapter.
Anyways I did a bit of research for the Training Arena and how big football fields were and...well, there we go. 450 feet long, 160 feet wide for the training arena. The cafeteria is about 360 feet long, 160 feet wide; I do things by feet though, deal with it...though I can always go in later and change it to meters if I get the urge. Meh, we'll see.
Well, as I've said before, I hope you all are enjoying the story and if you have any questions, let me know and I'll try to explain.