Escape to Crusade

By Sarge 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any and all related media. But if I did, man, that would be da' bomb!

I know, the title sucks. I was looking for insperation for a title and the first thing I saw was Stronghold: Crusader. Rated for a bit of cussing in later chapters. I filter a lot of stored anger into my stories.

Chapter 1: The Plight of the President

A long year has passed since Ratchet and Clank defeated the twisted mastermind, Dr. Nefarious. However, there are still some Tyhrranoids left, organic and robotic alike, rallied to Neferious' cause. Ratchet, Clank, and the Galactic Rangers had just returned from fighting down a particularly nasty Thyrranoid rebellion on Marcadia. Now they have returned to the living quarters of the Phoenix.

"Hey Qwark, think fast!" said Ratchet as he lobbed a patented Gadgetron Slime Grenade (TM) at Captain Qwark.

Unexplainably, Qwark caught the grenade, and it exploded in his face, spraying him with slime and causing him to scream like a five-year-old girl. Everyone in the quarters erupted with laughter.

Realizing the the absence of a particular, feminine voice, Ratchet said silently to himself, "Where's Sasha? I'd better go find her."

One of the galactic rangers within the room, model H-22,finally something after all the laughter died down "Hey Sarge, look at the galaxy's 'greatest' super heroe," he broached.

Ratchet stepped forward as if to leave the room, but H-26's metallic arm clasped him by the shoulder.

H-26 warned, "Can't see your girlfriend right now Sarge, she's busy." Ratchet turned a bright red that could be seen even through his fur. The Ranger struggled to stifle a chuckle.

'Ah well, might as well see what… who is that ,H-22?…whatever; was talking about'. Ratchet turned and was glad he did cause' right then he got to catch a glimpse of the Captain crying with face in hands. Then Sasha walked in with a worried look on her face.

Ratchet walked up to her and gave her a small peck on her cheek, hoping to make her fell better, and thinking that the crew could handle it... they couldn't. A few seconds passed as the others tried not to laugh, but they couldn't hold it in. The living quarters was even louder than before. Now it was Ratchet's turn to be embarrassed as much as Qwark was, cause' everyone knew they were a little, O.K., way more than friends. Except Ratchet had someone to share the embarresment with.

"Ah, well", Ratchet thought to himself. "Love, after all, is a sensitive subject and is easy to laugh at."

Sasha ordered everyone into the briefing room. There, she filled everyone in on the situation. "Alright, here's the deal. It seems"-...

"Why is she struggling with this?", Ratchet wondered...

"-my father was Presidentknapped in that last revolt on Marcadia. His current whereabouts are not known but we have a strong lead on Florana, and seeing as the dense vegetation would obscure the surface from our satellites, it's the perfect place to hide a stolen president.. Ratchet and an attachment of Spec. Ops. Rangers will HALO drop into the Nabla Jungle under cover of darkness and retrieve the President. The code is B5429671-"

"Hey Clank, that's your serial number!" Ratchet interrupts Sasha.

"-Ahem, Ratchet…"

A chorus of "ooh, he's in trouble", went up all around the room in a concerted group of gasps.

Ratchet's eyes seemed to get smaller, he turned a bright red that could barely be seen under his thick fur, he sank ever so slightly into his chair, his ears curled down a bit, and he sheepishly looked down at his feet and quietly said, "O.K., I'm sorry. Continue."

"When we recieve the code, stealth transports will come down to pick you up. Got it?"

"Roger that!" said the gathered clutter of Rangers.

"Oh, one more word of advice. This is a complicated operation, and in my experience, when things get complicated, things go wrong. Watch yourselves out there. This may not seem like a complicated operation right now, however en route to the Nabla Jungle you will recieve the specifics of the mission. Move out." She said that last part real quietly and looked really specifically meaningfully at Ratchet.

Their eyes met. Her eyes displayed a clear message to Ratchet. To him, her eyes read, "Please be careful out there, I don't want to happen to you."

Sasha stood up and held her hands behind her back as she looks critically over the assembled group. "All right, time to move out. Go, go, go!"

Props to Omnywrench for providing the layout for my story. And also, thank you Ganheim and Black Rosettes for giving me some tips. Please R&R!

-Sarge 11