Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet & Clank, or any of its associated characters and lore. That right belongs to Insomniac Games.
[SFG]
Sargasso From the Get-Go
[SFG]
Chapter One
[SFG]
Outpost L51, Planet Sargasso, Verdigris Sector, Polaris Galaxy
A swamp covered world crawling with no small amount of deadly creatures, Sargasso was, however, a place of economic importance due to being a source of gelatonium, the most widespread and efficient fuel substance in the Polaris Galaxy. Although the Lombax race managed the planet long before the terrorizing rule of Emperor Percival Tachyon, with their disappearance and presumed extinction, the territorial Kerchu from Jasindu had taken the reigns of the local refinery and combined with their natural fighting skills, they were able to stay neutral in the conflict between the Cragmite Empire Tachyon had resurrected around him and the Free Polaris movement of several worlds and species that opposed his tyranny.
While the Kerchu were regarded as a violent species that caused an allergic reaction in all other beings, the truth was that anyone with a respectable skillset either in fighting or architectural design, if not both or some other talent, had the opportunity to earn their trust and friendship. Additionally, if their foul tempers compelled them to hurt the young of other races, they would be incapable of caring for their own offspring, which is why the Kerchu on Sargasso did not have the heart for infanticide, and instead provided for the last known Lombax in the universe that they knew of in secret ever since the space pod that was meant to ferry him to a desert planet in the Solana Galaxy bordering Sargasso's region of space crashed near their outpost.
While growing up on Sargasso and in the company of the Kerchu was not without their challenges and consequences, Ratchet, as the Lombax was named, figured he aged pretty all right and would see how well he would fare in comparison to other sentients in due time. With no Tachyon Troopers, Free Polaris supporters, or even that frontier-styled smuggler who the Kerchu respected for his expertise in trafficking well-needed materials expected to drop by at the outpost, Ratchet was free to explore and acquire tools for his own devices in public, and with permission from the refinery foreman, was setting the stage for leaving Sargasso to find a hiding place of his own, even outside Polaris if he needed to.
"Are you sure you're prepared to go, Ratchet?" A computerized yet feminine voice asked the Lombax mechanic in concern while he was adjusting the last finishing touches on a new kind of warp drive he had built to ensure that the spaceship he equipped it with could traverse intergalactic distances in minutes rather than weeks to months.
Turning to the source of the voice, a Lombax defensive fighter with artificial intelligence that the Kerchu recovered from Fastoon for his use, Ratchet smiled as he completed his adjustments and placed a comforting hand on the ship. "It's okay, Aphelion. I'm ready to say goodbye to Sargasso and the Kerchu, and with the coordinates that my old pod had, we'll find a good hiding spot somewhere far, far away from Tachyon."
"Saying and doing are two different things, Ratchet. More importantly, well, are you sure you don't want to fight against Tachyon at some point?"
Ratchet sighed, having figured she was going to say that. "Aphelion, at a good time, I'd do anything to get rid of that jerk for what he did to my people, but I just don't even know where to begin fighting him. I mean, with his army of Drophyds, he's practically untouchable to anything but old age."
"And what about all the other people he's hurting?"
"There's nothing I can do to help them, old girl, even if I wanted to." Mustering a firmer voice, Ratchet added. "My family, whoever they were, must've given their lives so that I can live, and I won't spit on their graves by getting myself killed, okay?"
Aphelion took a moment to respond before ultimately sighing. "Right. Sorry, Ratchet."
Ratchet quickly appeared regretful as well. "It's fine. I'm sorry, too." Taking his mind off that episode, he then said. "Anyway, are you ready for your new gravimetric warp drive?"
Before Aphelion could reply, however, an approaching Kerchu came to Ratchet to deliver a holo-terminal to him. "Ambassador Boogoh wishes to speak with you before we part ways, young one." Was all that the messenger said as Ratchet accepted the communication device and ignored how Aphelion was restraining a laugh at the Kerchu diplomat's name.
[SFG]
Apogee Space Station, Arriving in orbit of Planet Veldin, Solana Galaxy
Upon receiving Boogoh's favor and then parting ways with Sargasso after living there for so many years, Ratchet and the Aphelion had journeyed to the Nundac Asteroid Ring in the Cerullean Sector of Polaris to meet with a Markazian named Talwyn Apogee at a onetime research facility that she called home. Apparently, Talwyn's father, the famous explorer and founder of Apogee Industries, Max, had become an ally of the Kerchu on their homeworld of Jasindu some time after he parted ways with his daughter when the latter turned seven years old at the time, and once the Kerchu politicos learned that Ratchet was constructing a gravimetric warp drive, they believed that they would do their comrade a great service by ensuring his only family could escape Tachyon's reign over the galaxy.
Admittedly, convincing the tough as nails Markazian and her two old warbots, Cronk and Zephyr, that Ratchet was sent on an errand by friends of Max Apogee was not an easy thing to do, especially since Talwyn shook the Lombax frantically to get more information on her father's whereabouts, and then practically snapped when he explained that they had to leave their native galaxy for both of their sakes. However, Ratchet's Lombax heritage and the logical arguments presented by a helpful Aphelion and even Zephyr, who alongside Cronk were relieved to know Max was still alive and also grateful that Ratchet presented the information to them, were enough to convince Talwyn that Ratchet was trustworthy and that it would be best to bide their time for a future confrontation with Tachyon in Solana.
Upon Talwyn's agreement, she, Ratchet, Cronk, and Zephyr then got to work in installing the warp drive into the Apogee Space Station and ensuring that it would survive an intergalactic jump before they finally activated it. Following a rough ride that could well be described as a "warping experience", the Space Station and its occupants had arrived immediately over a desert planet in another galaxy in what normally would have taken months with modern spaceships, let alone an entire space station.
"Well, shoot my Cronk and call me a full-blooded Lombax!" Zephyr exclaimed as he and his friends looked over the planet Veldin, which reminded them of the Lombax homeworld of Fastoon back in Polaris. He then slapped Ratchet's back in good cheer as he added. "Your gizmo worked, kiddo!"
Cronk was similarly amazed by the experience as well before he then caught on what his old friend said. "Wait, what was that, Zephyr?"
"Ratchet's gizmo worked?" The other ancient robot replied in a puzzled way.
"No, before that."
"Call me a full-blooded Lombax?"
"The very first thing, you old coot!" Cronk yelled in agitation.
Zephyr, on the other hand, was already making his way elsewhere as he was saying. "Well, I better check out if our galactic map can be updated to fit this galaxy."
"Zephyr!" Cronk snapped as he then chased after his fleeing comrade, leaving Ratchet and Talwyn alone to survey their surroundings.
The slightly taller Markazian released a quick chuckle as she gazed at Veldin before turning to Ratchet impressed. "I got to admit, Ratchet, you sure have that Lombax ingenuity. And this gadget might even make you the richest man in the known universe."
Ratchet smirked at her in response. "Trust me, you wouldn't be the first one to notice that."
"Still, I strongly recommend testing out such inventions before you use them for real." Talwyn added with her eyes narrowed.
Ratchet shrugged negligently as he commented. "Well, it got us here on the first try, right?" Talwyn's unamused expression hardening, however, got him to add nervously. "Uh, I mean, yes, ma'am, sorry, ma'am."
Talwyn then cheered up as she lightly punched Ratchet's right shoulder. "Ma'am? I'm hardly old enough to be your mom, kid."
"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly a kid either." The Lombax retorted playfully.
The laughed together for a bit before they then saw, to their surprise, the Aphelion leaving the Station.
"Uh, Zephyr doesn't have the urge to steal getaway vehicles when he's faced with Cronk's wrath, right?" Ratchet unsurely asked Talwyn who looked just as perturbed as he was.
"I was actually going to ask you if your ship had runaway tendencies."
"No, on either count, Miss Apogee." Zephyr quickly said as he and Cronk came back to them before pointing at a distant scene from where they were watching outer space. To them, it appeared that two black-painted minifighters were shooting at a third such spacecraft just when Aphelion was intervening and shot down the two pursuers and guided her newfound, fleeing acquaintance back to the Station.
"Huh, so she wanted to do a sudden rescue mission." Cronk summarized.
"Looks like it." Talwyn said with the palms of her hands showed.
Ratchet, though, had his face in his own hands in exhaustion. "I just hope she didn't put us on the most wanted list on the first day we got here."
[SFG]
Seeing as how I wrote some Ratchet & Clank one-shots that expanded into short stories that incorporate pairing Ratchet with Courtney Gears in one, Angela Cross in another, and Sasha Phyronix in a third such one-shot turned short story, even if it has not gotten there yet in the latter's case, I figured that a short story featuring Ratchet/Talwyn Apogee in the events of the first game would not be a bad idea, especially since it plays with my own thoughts on what Ratchet's life would be like if he grew up on Sargasso in his native Polaris Galaxy instead of Veldin in the Solana Galaxy, like his dimensional counterpart from Rift Apart, Rivet, did. Adding the Aphelion early and going into details of how A Crack in Time implied the Kerchu helped out Max Apogee and Angela with the Dimensionator were bonuses.
Because the idea behind this short story and my Ratchet/Vendra Prog one is that they are each like one of my one-shots, but with more than one chapter from the start, do not expect much description among other things. I have done fine with The Ever Upgearing Lombax, Deadlocked Too Soon, and Angelic and Magnetic Lombaxes, so you know how that goes.