Chapter Forty-two: Only a day away Part 2
The Presidential Palace.
11:22 am.
Flanked by one ranger, the president of Solana walked into his large office.
He had bags under his eyes from several sleepless nights.
When in the centre of the large office, he gave a wave to the ranger.
Although the president's back was on it, the ranger saluted and silently and left the room. The door closed behind the green robot with a swish.
The president sighed.
He walked to the window behind his desk.
He was given a beautiful view of the galaxy's Capital City.
It was perfect. A paradise devoid of all crime and poverty. Several years of toiling have turned this City into a high-class place to live.
But it didn't seem enough for the cazar who ran it.
Slowly, the president sat down in his chair and switched the computer on his desk on.
It started up in less than ten seconds.
The president of the Solana Galaxy logged into his email account and looked.
He stopped.
There was one message.
From his daughter.
He clicked.
He waited.
He looked.
He read.
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Silence.
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The president finished reading.
He made a decision.
Then, slowly moving his mouse, the president clicked an icon.
And the message was deleted.
The Starship Phoenix.
11:24 am.
Ratchet and Nefarious played a game on the VG9000 with extreme concentration.
Gloved and clawed thumbs button-bashed.
Their elbows where all over the place.
Courtney sat by Nefarious' side, watching carefully.
Clank sat by Ratchet's side. Silently.
Lawrence stood behind Nefarious and Courtney, his arms smartly behind his back.
Ratchet sweat.
In Nefarious' head, the satellite dish spun fast, the pump moved up and down in a blur, and the gear turned dangerously quick.
Courtney was at the edge of her seat. Her legs were no longer crossed femininely.
And then, it happened.
Ratchet had won.
Nefarious froze.
The lombax stood up, stretched his back, and let out a victorious shout.
Nefarious growled and was about to stand up, when a dainty, robotic hand touched his shoulder.
He stopped and looked at Courtney.
The ex-pop star looked back and said something.
Nefarious nodded and allowed Ratchet to continue with his chant.
11:35 am.
Slim sat at a large table in the cafeteria.
Bob sat next to him.
The janitor had introduced the tyhrranoid to his cleaning comrades.
Laughs, smiled, and comments were exchanged.
At one point, Slim said something.
The others listened.
Slim continued.
The edges of the cleaning staffs' lips curved.
Slim finished what he was saying.
Some chocked on the food they were eating from laughing.
Others hugged themselves as they hollered in amusement.
Another spewed a drink out from his nose.
Slim smirked.
He received pats on the shoulder and complements for the joke he said.
And he was happy.
Heinous' base.
12:18 am
Heinous was once again in the big room.
He used stolen tool after stolen tool on the weapon.
He was helped by about thirty constructobots.
Albert stood three stories below.
He nodded at everything Heinous said.
At one point, the scientist thought of a name.
He said it to Albert.
The butler cocked an eyebrow, but complied.
And Heinous continued working for the last time.
2:29 pm
Raxamis clicked the mouse.
He sighed as the last chapter to his fanfic was published.
He immediately logged off.
Then, he paused.
He smiled.
He had an idea.
He ran to the bedside table and pulled out several A-4 papers and a small case of pencil colours.
He set everything on the floor, including himself.
His left arm supporting his head, his right arm drawing, his front on the floor--not damaging the crystal--and his legs bent in the air…………
……….Raxamis sketched silently.
The Starship Phoenix.
3:00 pm
Skidd searched through his closet.
He tossed several shirts and trousers over his head, forgetting them.
He searched and searched.
And he found it.
A T-shirt.
With an autograph of Courtney Gears.
The green man hugged the article of clothing to his chest and chanted several chants of being rich.
3:04 pm
Qwark and Skrunch went head to head in the VR world.
Nothing dangerous; just a new feature Al had installed.
The technician was in the VR deck, monitoring for any signs of malfunction.
Helga was also inside the VR level, cheering both the costumed man and the monkey on.
Lunar City.
3:15 pm.
The last remains of the protopet were tossed into a truck.
Angela watched silently.
Mr. Fizzwidget had announced that a new protopet was going to be created.
The lombax took a deep breath.
She was called by a robot.
Angela nodded and walked inside a ship.
Capital City.
4:00 pm
The president gave a press conference.
Every top-ranking alien from every planet was there. They had arrived immediately after they received the calling message from the president.
The cazar spoke in seven different microphones.
About what to do when Dr. Heinous returns.
Questions were asked and some were translated.
The president answered every one.
He spoke about preparations.
Darla Gratch was also there, along with sixteen other new reporters.
There where several flashes from cameras.
The entire conference was recorded across the galaxy in several different languages.
Heinous' base.
4:10 pm
Raxamis had called Heinous, Albert and Sandy to his room.
The three robots waited for the overly enthusiastic fanboy to finish the introductions.
Finally, Raxamis whipped out a paper from behind him comically.
The others looked.
It was a picture of all four of them. They were striking a pose at a street corner. The detail was very good as was the colouring. Above there, where three words, written in a combination of grey, green, black, and purple, saying 'THE FEARSOME FOUR!'.
Sandy said something.
Heinous translated.
Raxamis grinned and gloated.
Albert said something.
And everyone else laughed.
Gadgetron HQ.
4:13 pm
Mr. Krinkle typed on a computer.
At one point, he reached a hand out, grabbed a glass of water and drank it all in one gulp.
He resumed typing and email, about how he'd agree to donate several weapons.
Laboratory on Marcadia.
5:02 pm
Ed, Will and Jane worked on the finishing touches on their project.
Ed said something.
The other two nodded.
Will spoke.
The others listened.
Will finished what he was saying.
Ed and Jane chuckled lightly.
They were working on a robot.
A familiar-looking robot.
A doppelganger.
An evil one.
11:44 pm
Everyone organic was tucked away.
Heinous, Albert, Raxamis, and Sandy were in sleep mode.
The same could be said for Clank, Lawrence, and Courtney. They were in the game room, recharging.
All Phoenix personnel slumbered.
The only one awake was Nefarious.
He wasn't playing.
He wasn't working out.
He stood at a window of the room he was given.
His left arm rested on the frame.
He stared at space, thinking about his stepbrother.
How they could have been like a normal family.
He sighed.
All in all, everyone knew the same thing.
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Solana was only a day away.