[SFG]

Chapter Two

[SFG]

Meeting up with the Aphelion and the minifighter she rescued in the Station's docking bay, Talwyn and her warbots awkwardly kept their distance from Ratchet as he was fuming with disappointment at how his ship went off without his consent. While the minifighter's cockpit quickly opened and closed as a clanking noise was heard, Ratchet's attention was solely focused on the vehicle he was mad at.

Sensing the Lombax's frustration, Aphelion demurely said. "I'm sorry, Ratchet. I just saw something of a bad situation, and I wanted to help."

"But what if you aided and abetted a criminal in escaping the law, Aphelion?!" Ratchet yelled which prompted a wince from Talwyn, Cronk, and Zephyr. "As far as we know, you could've killed two Galactic Police officers, too!"

"But she didn't, sir." A voice called out in Aphelion's defense, which surprised all five Polaris natives as they could not tell where it came from.

"Who in tarnation said that?!" Zephyr demanded with his weapon instinctively raised.

A throat-clearing sound was then heard as the voice said. "Down here." With all organic eyes, robotic optics, and, in the Aphelion's case, ship sensors following the source, a small robot of a grey-colored titanium make waved innocently. "Greetings. I am a Drek Industries Sentry-bot, serial number B5429671. I was just processed out of the factory on my home planet, Quartu, thirty-seven minutes ago, when certain circumstances occurred, and I was forced to flee in the Blarg minifighter your self-aware vessel noticed before coming to my aid from my pursuers, who were both Electroid-type robots manufactured by the Blarg, not "Galactic Police officers" as you may have suspected."

Trading unsure glances with Ratchet and her warbots, Talwyn then turned to the Sentry-bot without accusation, but with more curiosity as she asked. "What kind of circumstances are we talking about here?"

The Sentry-bot looked a bit embarrassed as he replied. "Well, to start with, I'm a defect. A true Blargian Sentry-bot is larger and well-armed to perform security services, but I came out like this. If I had stayed, regardless of what I had learned or not, I would've ultimately been destroyed."

Cronk snorted in annoyance at that. "Typical corporate goons and their "organics are more superior than robots" attitude."

Zephyr, having lowered his weapon earlier, nodded at his friend's words as he turned to the Sentry-bot. "Trust us, kid, you made the right call in escaping such a death trap. Now all you need is your own name."

"A name?" The Sentry-bot wondered in confusion.

Ratchet, having relaxed a bit upon learning that Aphelion did not put them on the Solana Galactic Government's wanted list, perked up at the little robot's expression. "Yeah, everyone who's their own individual should have a name. I'm Ratchet, you just met the Aphelion, and these three are Talwyn Apogee, Cronk, and Zephyr." Holding his right hand out, he then said. "What name would you like for yourself?"

Studying the hand for a bit, the Sentry-bot considered his words before he then shook the hand with his own. "Well, I did notice that I make a "Clank" every now and then."

"Clank, huh? I like it." And at Ratchet's words, the others nodded towards the newly dubbed Clank as well which made him work up something of a smile.

Despite the positive feelings, however, Clank's expression became serious as he then said. "Still, I'm afraid that I must find someone who can save the galaxy from destruction. Do any of you know where I could find a hero of sorts, or the proper authorities that could provide aid in this crisis."

"Uh, don't you have the info for any of that?" Talwyn asked just as taken aback as everyone else was. "You piloted that ship here, after all, so you must have an in-built galactic map or something, right?"

Clank shook his head negatively as he replied. "No, I was honestly on my way to Planet Novalis with the coordinates I obtained from an infobot and was only able to pilot the minifighter due to being installed with the latest robotic ignitions system."

"The latest what?" Talwyn, Aphelion, and the warbots all asked in unison while Ratchet pondered before finally remembering.

"Oh, yeah! A very smart yet very weird plumber I met back on Sargasso told me about that thing. Apparently, they're used to keep anyone inexperienced and otherwise from going crazy inside spaceships. Simply put, a robot equipped with such an installment can jumpstart any compatible ship for space travel and serve the purpose of a galactic map with the provided coordinates from planet to planet."

Upon Ratchet's finished explanation, Zephyr had a contemplative look. "Huh, that's a pretty odd feature in a day and age like this, but it could come in handy for whenever Cronk gets lost in space."

"Like you don't get lost in space at all!" Cronk retorted at Zephyr's tease towards him.

Ignoring the banter, Talwyn turned to Clank explaining. "For the truth to be told, Clank, we just arrived from another galaxy without any knowledge of what's going on in this one, so we're about as lost in the dark as you are. Can you tell us what this is all about?"

Clank answered by taking an infobot out of his chest compartment which then played a video for all of them to see.

Showing the transmission of a short, black-haired, and bright-blue-eyed Blarg in a business suit that looked affable yet felt to the viewers as anything but that, the Blarg said. "Hello, citizens of-." The Blarg's video was quickly replaced with the photo image of a pristine planet subtitled Novalis, which prompted Ratchet to trade a dry glance with Talwyn of what an impersonal sleaze the Blarg was before the video got back to him. "My race, the Blarg, have a small problem that I can't help but feel partly responsible for. Our planet, Orxon, has become so polluted, overpopulated, and poisonous, that we are no longer able to dwell here. But I, Chairman Alonzo Drek, inheritor of my father's company and all-around leader of my people, have a solution!"

"Find a new planet to colonize?" Cronk suggested sarcastically before Zephyr shushed him.

"We are constructing a pristine, new world using only the choicest planetary components available." Drek continued to say as an illustration of an artificial planet was briefly shown. "So, what does this mean to you, you might ask?" Blueprints of a giant crane-like device were then shown tearing apart a planet as Drek explained. "Using highly sophisticated technology, which you couldn't possibly understand, we will be extracting a large portion of your planet and adding it to our new one."

"Say what now?!" Zephyr yelped in terrified shock, prompting Cronk to cover his mouth to hear more.

Undaunted by his own words, Drek added. "Unfortunately, this change in mass will cause your planet to spin out of control and drift into the sun where it will explode into a flaming ball of gas, but, of course, sacrifices must be made. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Cut!" Someone off-screen declared which contorted Drek's once pleasant face into one of anger as he ranted.

"And if you don't like it, you can take your whiny, sniveling, snot-nosed populations, form a line behind me and kiss my Blargian-!" Drek then turned to someone apparently gesturing to him out of the camera view confused. "We're still on? Well, turn it off, you complete idiot!"

The screen then faded to black, giving everyone a chance to think over what had happened.

"Is this guy mental, or something?" Ratchet asked aloud. "There are more practical and less dangerous ways to make a new home for his species than something as crazy as this!"

Talwyn growled to herself in anger before commenting. "He's just like any Cragmite. Plundering everything from planet to planet until there's nothing left for anyone that may still be alive."

"It is a bad situation." Clank nodded solemnly. "That is why I must find someone who can stop him from enacting his insane plan. I may be a robot, but what Chairman Drek is proposing is unjust in every sense of the word."

Thinking Clank's words over a bit, Ratchet ultimately shrugged in an attempt to be negligent. "Well, we don't have a Solana Galactic Map, but I guess the locals on Novalis can loan you one if you make it there quick."

Talwyn stared at Ratchet for a bit in disbelief before shrugging herself nonchalantly and then turning to Clank. "He's not wrong there, Clank. You and I should find some directions there at least."

"What?" Ratchet and the three robots all said in befuddled unison.

"Miss Apogee, you should let Cronk and me go with you!" Zephyr advised earnestly with Cronk nodding his head in agreement.

"Yeah, we may not be as spry as we used to be, but nothing will ever change the fact that we're warbot veterans." Vowed Cronk.

Clank looked a bit concerned, but then said a bit more optimistically. "Well, I could use some traveling companions."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ratchet finally let out before making a clock gesture with his hands. "Time out, people! We just got out of one war-torn galaxy, and you guys willingly want to jump into another when it hasn't even involved us yet?!"

Talwyn's once neutral gaze became sterner as she retorted. "Ratchet, we left Polaris because we couldn't fight Tachyon on even terms. This Drek guy hasn't gotten as far as he has, though, which means we can help others just as we can get help from others as well in this fight and in the next!"

Ratchet started to get angry again as his clenched fists indicated. "Your father wouldn't want you risking your life in hopeless battles anymore than my own family would mine!"

"At least I know better than to use my missing loved ones and species as an excuse to hide my cowardice! Helping others just for their sake is not nonsense!"

Talwyn's words brought Ratchet to a stop as he turned away and processed what she said which was more hurtful than he wanted to admit. The atmosphere of the docking bay was disquiet before Ratchet felt someone hug him.

"Ratchet, I'm sorry." It was Talwyn, who sounded genuinely remorseful for her harshness. Making eye contact with the Lombax she then went on to say. "It's just that I know evil when I see it. I know the way it spreads and hurts those that are touched by it, like how Tachyon threatens our galaxy and what Drek is planning to do to his own, and if there's one thing my father taught me, is that fighting evil is never easy. It can be painful and ugly, but no matter what troubles a person may go through doing it, it doesn't change the fact that it's the right thing to do, okay?"

In contemplation, Ratchet turned away to place his hands on the Aphelion, who seemed to gladly lean into him as any supportive pet would do for their owner. Exhaling calmly, a small smile soon formed as he then turned to say. "Alright, but if we're going to do this, we should play it smart."

[SFG]

Tobruk Crater, Planet Novalis

Agnogg Buckwash, the Rilgarian Mayor of the Tobruk Crater settlement of Novalis and the planet's overall political leader, tried to exude a self-image of defiance to the Blarg that had taken him captive in a one-sided negotiation with Chairman Drek that ultimately ended poorly, but deep down, he was ultimately scared not only of his imminent death or how Drek's thugs intended to carry it out, but of the people he would be leaving behind as well. He thought of his citizens who placed their faith in him which made Buckwash feel guilty about not doing his best for them. Thinking about his unfocused yet good souled nephew that his sister brought into the universe, Skidd McMarx, only made him feel worse.

So lost in thought was he, that Buckwash did not hear any fighting outside of the vessel that the Blarg were transporting him in back to his home where he was meant to suffer to death until finally, the ship opened up and he, followed by an infobot that he brought with for whatever reason that he did not remember then, exited in fright to see his escorts destroyed with only a Cazar-like being and a small robot looking determined.

"Don't hurt me, please." He begged, finally revealing the fear in his voice. "Who are you? Mercenaries?"

Before the elderly Rilgarian could speculate further, however, the yellow-furred creature raised his arms up for calm said with a disarming smile. "No need to panic, man." Gesturing to the robot he added with emphasis. "Clank and I came here to help save your planet."

"You're Galactic Rangers?" Buckwash asked confused yet beginning to feel hope at last.

The robot, Clank, and his companion traded unsure looks before the former replied. "Well, we're not government soldiers, or part of any official hero group, if either is what you're referring to. We just knew that the Blarg were going to attack your planet and wanted to help out."

"For a price?" Buckwash felt a bit worried again as he did not have a lot of bolts on him at the moment, but the Cazar-like sentient shook his head saying.

"The only thing I think we need is a galactic map, but beyond that, I can imagine that our friend, whose father founded a technology company, has enough bolts for our stay in this galaxy."

Buckwash was now more curious as he said. "What do you mean by "this galaxy"? Where are you lot from?"

Clank was about to answer, but his companion politely interjected. "Sorry, but we don't have a lot of time to talk. Can you find shelter somewhere while we look for anymore of your people to send your way? I'm afraid the best we can do is see how the girls handle the Blarg in space. After the storm passes, then we'll talk more."

"Can I at least ask how many of you there are?"

"Well, including my ship with artificial intelligence, four, and while Clank and I are here, the remaining half are in a classic dogfight in space."

[SFG]

Novalis orbit

With Talwyn at the Aphelion's controls fighting off Blarg ships, she had to admit that Ratchet's strategy was the work of genius. Not that she would ever want to flaunt his ego any more than she already did over the warp drive before they met Clank. And all the same, the ground portion of the battle was easier than what Talwyn and Ratchet's ship had to do in the planet's orbit.

Simply put, the Lombax's plan was for him and Clank to take the latter's minifighter to Novalis as a distraction to the rapidly arriving Blarg fleet's robotic ground forces, even setup the minifighter to explode to take out some of the robots that would surround it, followed by Ratchet and Clank exploiting that opening to take out as much of the rest as they can while looking for any remaining citizens. Meanwhile, Talwyn would fly the Aphelion,who was fitted with rapid-fire cannons, a rapid-fire turret at the rear, and a chargeable missile system, to standoff with the Blarg ships themselves until the orbiting planet collector that Clank referred to as a "harvester" was destroyed entirely.

On the bright side, the blueprints provided by the infobot indicated the harvester's weak spot, and from what Aphelion told Talwyn, the boys were doing good on the planet's surface. The downer, however, was that the Blargian piloting skills and the way they armed their ships were both nothing to laugh about. Once more on the bright side, though, was that Talwyn would not call herself an Apogee, if she did not have excellent piloting skills herself as Cronk and Zephyr told her that she had.

"All right, old girl." She said to the Aphelion as they dodged fire from their enemies. "This is going to be a team effort. You'll protect our rear, I'll protect our front, and we'll both be ready to move when we have to."

"Understood." Aphelion replied earnestly.

While a total of six Blargian ships stepped back to observe the dogfight and remotely direct the harvester to do its function on Novalis, the two females fought their way past orange variants of the minifighter Clank used beforehand, fighter bombers, starfighters that attacked with bullets and rockets, destroyer-class warships carrying heavy missiles, and individual piloted saucers that attempted to bar their way to the harvester itself. Nonetheless, with their combined piloting and aiming, Talwyn and Aphelion were making good time towards their target, when the latter's HD-800 screen involuntarily picked up a transmission from nearby.

It was Drek himself, smirking at Talwyn with a sinister form of smugness. Chuckling to himself, he said. "I must admit you're putting up a good fight, my dear, but you won't last much longer, and you know this, too. Why waste such effort, let alone your very life, over such pointlessness? Whatever that old idiot Buckwash and his people are paying you, I'll gladly double it."

Talwyn scowled heavily at the Blarg for thinking that she was such a usable mercenary. "My name is Talwyn Apogee, not that I expect it to mean anything to you, and what I'm doing is not for sale." Turning back to the sight of the harvester, she then declared. "Aphelion, let's end this!"

"Roger!" The Lombax fighter acknowledged as they picked up their speed, ignored Drek's laughter along the way, fought as many Blargian spacecraft as they had before, and flew straight towards the top of the harvester where the blueprints had indicated is where its vulnerable point was at.

Drek's laughter finally subsided as he gasped at what Talwyn and Aphelion were directly aiming at. In a panic he shook his arms negatively while saying. "Wait! I'll triple your pay! Quadruple it even! I'm being serious here!"

"So are we." Aphelion replied, leaving the Markazian to do the deed.

With missiles locked, Talwyn quipped to the Blarg without turning to him on the screen. "Just so you know, Clank, or the "defect" as you call him, sends his regards."

And with the push of a button, the missiles fired at the weakest part of the harvester, causing it to explode entirely.

"No!" Drek screamed in dismay which then turned to anger as he turned back to Talwyn. "You atrocious little space rat! You've signed your own death warrant for this! I'll-!"

Hearing him get cutoff by her vessel, Talwyn began to pilot down to Novalis with a relieved grin as Aphelion commented in amusement. "My word. Did his mother fail to teach him proper manners and the language that goes with them as a child, or was she just as despicable as him?"

[SFG]

Bridge of the Blargian Space Fleet's Flagship

Upon the Apogee brat, or perhaps her ship's A.I., terminating his communication with them, Alonzo Drek, dictator of the Blarg race and mastermind behind what he secretly termed the "Infinite Orxon" project, gave in to his boiling rage and screamed. Blindly, he slammed his fists on the metallic floor under him, imagining himself actually drawing blood from that interloper and her friend that his robots on Novalis had shown him camera footage of while also denting the metal of both that accursed Aphelion and that worthless runaway "Clank".

"Sir!" A concerned voice called out to Drek as he kept hitting the floor. "Sir, please! Calm down!"

Narrowing his eyes, Drek turned to one of his many unambitious scientists that had the nerve to order him instead of being ordered by him. Next to the Blarg scientist, Drek's robot lieutenant stepped back at the sight of his boss' fury while the scientist cleared his throat to add on.

"I know we lost a harvester, and that we don't have the time or resources to build another, but we still have several more to use, if not on Novalis, than on the other targeted planets. We can always come back here later to complete New Orxon."

Standing back up on his feet and managing his tie, Drek processed over his lackey's words and took a deep breath before exhaling with a nod. As much as he hated to say it, the idiot scientist was not wrong. Turning to the glass that kept the vacuum of space from having its way with those on the bridge, Drek looked out to the remains of the harvester and contemplated over what had happened and how it could have been different.

Originally, Drek had intended for the harvesters' role to be combined with that of a mobile space station that would also function as both his command center and a planet destroying laser suitable for a Blarg that had the means to surpass nature itself, but his people lacked the scientific vision to accomplish such an undertaking, which prompted a brief search for the brightest and most immoral scientist in the Solana Galaxy that could aid him. However, with the timing, he had to call it off when the "good doctor" remained unfounded.

'I suppose I owe that to employing his most hated enemy into my ranks to delay the Galactic Government's response.' Drek admitted to himself in his mind with a visible frown before he calmed down upon recognizing that at least his "future spokesman" was more predictable at manipulating than his archenemy. And yet, even though he told that greedy washup that the defect's continued activities were a potential problem, he could never imagine such a debacle that he just witnessed. Closing his eyes in thought, his frown shortly turned upside down as he chuckled a bit.

An action that prompted confusion from his subordinates as his Lieutenant's voice implied. "Chairman Drek?"

Sighing, Drek turned to the two with a sad-looking smile that did not convey his true emotions as he said. "Whatever my feelings for "Clank", I must confess, I would've both paid and killed to get his new friends into my payroll. Such fighting talents are to be commended, after all." Sighing again, he then said in a more nonchalant way. "Oh, well. You win some, you lose some."

The Lieutenant and Scientist relaxed a bit at their superior's expression, but Drek would not let them rest just yet.

Pointing towards the former, he ordered. "Call our ship commanders that it's time we left this system for now, inform the harvester protection detail that they are to increase their awareness and effectiveness in safeguarding our future, and see what information we can find about Talwyn Apogee, the Aphelion she piloted in, and that furry whatever it is that was on the surface. We must ensure that another mess like this doesn't happen again, or heads will roll."

Pointing at the Scientist, Drek then added. "You and your colleagues are to keep a close eye on our new planet in the works, and be prepared to do whatever is necessary to maintain now that we cannot acquire the Novalis part for the moment. As I said before, any failure on your part will lead to a most sticky end."

"Yes, Chairman Drek!" The two bunglers saluted fearfully and began to make their leave from the bridge before Drek then added.

"And one more thing. Inform our personnel that my title is now "Executive Chairman Drek", and that they are to refer to me as that until I say otherwise."

[SFG]

Tobruk Crater, Planet Novalis

Having watched the harvester be destroyed from the surface alongside Clank and two of the native Rilgarians, Ratchet clenched his fist with a proud smirk as he let out. "That's my girl."

Looking at him in interest, Clank hummed before smartly asking him. "Are you perhaps referring to the Aphelion, or someone else, Ratchet?"

The moment having been killed by Clank's sarcasm with smiling witnesses to boot, Ratchet stammered in denial. "I wasn't talking about Talwyn, Clank!"

Clank worked up a witty smile as he responded. "Ah, and how was it that Miss Apogee was the first to come to your mind? I didn't name any names."

"Oh, brother." Ratchet facepalmed in dismay while Clank and the Rilgarians chuckled at his reaction.

Before the Lombax could retort more properly, the four of them then saw the Aphelion land near them with a triumphant Talwyn boarding out and upon seeing Ratchet grinned widely. "Care to top that off, hotshot?"

His confidence restored due to Talwyn's remark, Ratchet replied. "Don't bet your tail on it, Apogee. The year's still ongoing, after all."

"Ha! If you say so." Talwyn then noticed the two locals accompanying Ratchet and Clank before turning back to the Lombax. "So, how'd it go on your end?"

Ratchet was about to speak before the elderly Rilgarian with the cane interjected with a polite smile towards the former. "If I may be allowed to explain, my boy?" Getting a permissive nod, he then bowed his head as an introduction. "I am Planetary Chairman Agnogg Buckwash, young lady. When the Blarg made their announcement, most of my people felt the urge to flee as fast as they could, but thanks to the courage of you and your friends, Novalis can live another day." With a meaningful nod towards the Aphelion, he added. "I cannot even begin to express my gratitude to the four of you."

The other more rotund Rilgarian that had the makings of a lifelong mechanic nodded in agreement with Buckwash just as pleased before turning to Ratchet. "I got to hand it to you, youngster, you've come a long way from the wanderlust kid I met years ago."

While Ratchet accepted the compliment in embarrassment, Talwyn picked up on what the man said and turned to Ratchet curiously. "You know him, Ratchet?"

Clank, having met the Rilgarian with Ratchet before the harvester was destroyed, answered on the Lombax's behalf. "Remember what he said about meeting a very smart plumber back on his home planet?"

"Him?" Talwyn wondered aloud as she was compelled to point towards the Plumber who laughed good-naturedly.

"Expecting someone younger and twice as charming, Miss Apogee?" He jokingly asked.

"Well, no, but how could you have come from Solana to Polaris and back again with all the troubles the last galaxy has?"

Waving his hand negligently, the Plumber said. "Eh, Solana, Polaris, Bogon, I take as many long trips as possible to go wherever I'm needed in this universe and beyond. And no need to worry, even if I could've invented a gravimetric warp drive, your boyfriend beat me to it."

"Boyfriend?!" Talwyn yelped in mortification, which prompted an equally uneasy Ratchet to get the conversation back on track.

"Anyway, the point, Mister Buckwash, is that we're in a galaxy that we don't have a map for while that Drek guy is planning to tear it all to pieces. We'd like to stop him, but we're going to need expert help, maybe even an army, so if there's like some crucial military base we could go to, or a well-popular and capable figure that we could meet up with, please tell us."

Thinking about Ratchet's request briefly, Buckwash answered with an eager smile. "Well, Solana's primary defense force, the Galactic Rangers, might have their hands full to meet with you, but out of all the heroes in this galaxy, the one that I believe is most apt in stopping Drek is Captain Copernicus Leslie Qwark."

"Is he that much of a bigshot?" Talwyn asked for confirmation.

The Plumber was the first to respond with a knowing grin. "Well, that depends, dear girl. Do either of you remember Captain Blackstar?"

"Who?" Clank asked uncertain.

"He was a major Space Pirate back in Polaris before he and his crew moved to Solana when I was a kid, Clank." Talwyn explained to the diminutive robot before her eyes widened in revelation. "Wait, Captain Qwark was the guy who took down Blackstar?!"

"No way!" Ratchet said just as surprised. "One guy actually took down a whole crew of robotic pirate ghosts?!"

At that last part, Clank's eyes narrowed dryly. "Excuse me?"

Both of the Rilgarians laughed at Clank's unimpressed reaction as Ratchet knelt down to the robot to say. "We kid you not, pal. Back in Polaris, there are occasionally a lot of stuff that could be described as supernatural."

"That just reeks of a lack of realism, Ratchet."

At Clank's words, the Aphelion piped up to say in mock wonder. "Indeed. The same can also be said for how a planet can be created by patchworking the removed pieces of already made worlds."

Clank sighed in defeat at that. "Okay, fair enough."

"Good to see that you aren't doubting Captain Qwark's accomplishments like those boneheads in the media." Buckwash remarked approvingly. "And that's only one example of the heroics he's achieved in the known universe."

Exchanging an intrigued smile with Ratchet and Clank, Talwyn stated. "Well, that sounds like our kind of hero all right. Where can we find him?"

Before either of the Rilgarians could answer, the Aphelion interrupted to inform. "Apologies, everyone, but I'm receiving a communication from the Apogee Space Station."

"Shouldn't there be a huge gap between intergalactic calls?" The Plumber wondered aloud with a raised eyebrow.

"Actually, the Station's a lot closer than you think, sir." Ratchet explained quickly before telling his ship. "Patch them through, Aphelion."

Exhibiting a holographic ray, the ship then revealed Cronk and Zephyr waving energetically.

"Hi, kids." Zephyr greeted in good spirits. "Sorry it took us so long to call you, but shutting all power in the Station after moving it at the dark side of Veldin's moon meant that we needed to take our time getting everything back in order."

"That's fine, Zephyr." Talwyn said in reassurance. "I guess that means the Blarg didn't see you then?"

Cronk beamed with pride as he answered. "Absolutely not, Miss Apogee! Ratchet's idea for us may have been questionable, but we executed it perfectly!"

"Hey!" Ratchet uttered defensively much to everyone's good humor.

Clank then got the warbots' attention saying. "Thankfully, we also repelled the Blarg invasion of Novalis, so that's something."

"Well done, young folk!" Zephyr congratulated the three before adding a bit unsurely. "Still, while we were watching the Blarg fleet, we noticed something weird."

"How so?" Talwyn asked.

Cronk took this opportunity to explain. "Well, we saw a small ship leave the fleet and it didn't seem to match any of the other vessels' designs. I couldn't tell who was piloting the dern thing, but it had a logo of a blue and black atom with a lightning bolt etched on it."

"Did it look like the letter "Q"?!" Buckwash interrupted in a newfound panic.

Looking at the Rilgarian in surprise, Zephyr answered. "Well, yeah, but how'd you know that?"

Buckwash had a reflecting look in his eyes before he finally said. "On, no. Now it all makes sense, and it's just inconceivable!"

With the planetary chairman in a morose state, the Plumber took it upon himself to explain unhappily. "That logo you've described belongs to Solana's self-proclaimed superhero, Captain Qwark."

"What?!" Clank and the five Polaris natives all exclaimed in surprise.

Regaining his focus, Buckwash explained to the group. "While I was meeting with Drek onboard his flagship, I told him that Qwark would do something about this madness, yet all the little midget did was act like I told a joke or something!"

"So Qwark sold out his native galaxy to the Blarg?" Ratchet asked just for clarification before adding. "Why?"

Clank, visibly unsure though he was, could not help but offer. "What if he's actually undercover? That happens on occasion, right?"

The Plumber replied. "It might not be that complicated as you hope, little guy, but if there's anyone who could knock some sense into him, I'm hoping it's you."

"Are there any other heroes in this galaxy we can meet up with that aren't potentially dirty?" Talwyn asked for the sake of argument.

Calming down somewhat, Buckwash then began to say. "Well, there are a lot of heroes actually. In Qwark's own neighborhood, there's Captain Starshield, Quaternion X, and the Brown Ranger."

"There's also Kid Nova and whoever took him up as his sidekick." The Plumber added before scratching the back of his head in thought. "Although, I forget who the last fellow's name is."

"Additionally, there are Agents Zero and Bizarro as well as Captains Lightspeed and Nightingale."

"Then there's Gray Thunder, Mobius Man, those teenage girls calling themselves the Omega Twins, and Quasar Flare."

"Not to mention Gammatron, King Claude, Orange Comet, Uranium Man, Squidzor, and LandShark."

"Plutonium Jones, or as they call him "the Muscle"."

"Plasma Ray and Woman, even though I'm not sure if they're connected."

"Mad Monkey McKnight, that temperamental guy who writes his name down as W3RM, and El Mustachio from the Bogon Galaxy."

"There used to be a team called the Sonic 7, but they pretty much broke apart after that mess with what used to be Bolden 3."

"Oh, and lastly, the adventuress from Planet Aquatos, Hydro Girl!"

Absorbing the vast information that they were just told by the old Rilgarians, Cronk was the first among the listeners to groan. "Yeesh! That's a lot more heroes than I figured a galaxy this size could have!"

"And judging by the names, they aren't as well made as they used to be." Zephyr snarked in agreement.

Ignoring the slight insult, the Plumber divulged. "Either way, a good portion of them could be anywhere in the universe, so, if I may offer some advice, I'd keep a close eye on Qwark, if I were you."

"He has a point, guys." Ratchet said in agreement with the Plumber. "Even if he's not undercover, we can still find him and make him talk about what he knows."

Clank nodded in approval. "That would be a win-win, no matter what then."

"Still, where can we find him?" Talwyn asked the Rilgarians again.

Buckwash had an apologetic look on his face as he said. "Well, right now, we lack the means to update your ship with a galactic map adjustable to Solana." Before the party could bemoan their circumstances, however, he then showed them his infobot. "Nonetheless, infobots like this one carry coordinates inside them which can direct you to wherever you may need to go in the galaxy."

Before the politician could turn his infobot for display, though, the Plumber quickly interjected to reveal one of his own. "Still, some of the places that you may go could have well-needed gadgets as much as people who will need your help as mine can indicate." Turning to Buckwash, he added with regret mixed with empathy. "Sorry, Mr. Mayor, but I'm afraid that these two can't wait for long without help."

Looking at each other curiously, Ratchet, Talwyn, and Buckwash soon turned to the Plumber's infobot with interest like everyone else was as well.

[SFG]

As you can see from the first two chapters, I did what I could to balance Ratchet's self-centeredness from the original game with the usual heroic spirit we see everywhere else, but with a slight echoing of the IDW origin story for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' ally, the Fugitoid, he is now wanting to help out in this situation.

As for the space battle, while I can see Ratchet, Clank, and Talwyn giving a good fight to the Blarg on the planet's surface while the Aphelion provides air support, I also figured that it would not eliminate the problem as the Scavenger armor bio from Rift Apart's deluxe edition implied that Novalis was ultimately destroyed, even if we did not get to see it unlike the reimagined works. Therefore, while Ratchet and Clank led a diversion with the latter's minifighter before saving some lives on Novalis itself, Talwyn's piloting of the Aphelion made a wrinkle in Drek's plans by destroying one of his harvesters, which while there are some more, they cannot be necessarily replaced with Drek's busy schedule moving along, hence the latter's meltdown.

I kind of got inspired by the story, Rivet & Klunk, that way, so you know, and even in there, he kept his temper at bay to begrudgingly respect the titular duo's success in destroying an invasion force on Novalis followed by the one on Kerwan. Speaking of Rivet & Klunk, while I did comment once that I did not mind referring to Drek's Robot Lieutenant from the original game with the name Victor Von Ion, I am now thinking that the former could never measure up to the reimagined works' warbot that carried the name, even if he was a bit more competent and fearless.

Now that the heroes have an idea that Qwark is either a genuine turncoat or has gone undercover in Drek's operation, even though I am sure you all already know where he leans on, of course, they are determined to track him down as a sort of a win-win situation no matter what. While I can admit that the heroes from Deadlocked look promising, we do not know a lot about them on a personal level compared to Qwark, who has a full name underneath his "Captaincy" among other things compared to Hydro Girl and Captain Starshield, but I did reference them all for the sake of argument which I figured was informative.