Chapter XX
Unknown Location…
"You've left behind quite the mess… Captain Squishy."
A venomous sneer twists Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman Drek's already somewhat wrinkled face, making him look even more terrifying. For a such a short person, he can really instill fear in someone with just one look.
"Yeah!" the robotic assistant hovering next to him pipes up in agreement, his single yellow "eye" also giving Qwark the heebie jeebies. Normally by himself Zed wasn't all that frightening— in fact, he and Qwark tend to get along quite well. However, the assistant's loyalty rests in Drek, and he'll obey pretty much any order given to him to protect his own… hide? Aluminum foil?
That's what sends fear trickling down Qwark's spine.
"Nice going there, Captain Squishy!" Zed adds, crossing his arms and harrumph-ing for emphasis.
"You managed to not only fail to stop the Lombax and her pet robot from halting our attack on Kalebo III, but you also managed to out yourself to the entire galaxy in the process," Drek goes on, closed fists trembling with boiling anger.
Qwark hastily starts protesting, holding his hands out in front of him as though that would save him if Drek were to order his immediate execution or something. "Why would you let your soldiers take their phones down to—"
"SILENCE!"
Drek's shriek echoes off the walls as Qwark falls silent and Zed hides behind his clipboard, trembling in sheer terror.
"You are running on limited time still," Drek tells him. "Your findings earned you some extra time to destroy those two nuisances. Seeing as you have failed to do so, I am giving you only one more chance to prove yourself. But we can discuss the fine details later." He waves his hand dismissively, and Qwark gulps loudly, shoulders slumping with relief. He still has time. Good. Good. "I have found the perfect orbit for my new planet— unfortunately, another lump of useless rock stands in my way and as such must be destroyed."
"What planet?"
"Planet Veldin," Drek answers, turning away and rubbing his hands together with visible glee. "Once that sand-ridden rash on the galaxy's backside has been destroyed, we can finally move New Orxon into orbit."
"But Veldin is populated!" Qwark blurts. He slams his hands over his mouth, legs trembling as Drek whirls around, narrowed eyes glaring daggers at him. Qwark lowers his hands slowly, taking a deep breath. Rivet's and Klunk's words still rattle in his brain, not leaving him alone for even a second. "Was the fight on Kerwan really staged? My team could've been—"
Drek again waves his hand dismissively, cutting off the former superhero. "If there is room on my new planet, I suppose I could be persuaded to share some space." The words slithering out of the red reptile's mouth sound anything but sincere. Just as the green spandex-ed man opens his mouth to respond, the Blarg points at him, still glaring venomously.
Qwark's mouth shuts, and Drek goes on, "And before you start bemoaning about the 'morality of the situation' and how your Ranger friends might have been killed, just remember that you were the one who chose to go along with this. For another cereal box with your face on it. Our sponsorship deal is all you have left now. Your only lifeline. Betrayal or failure will only leave you a bolt-less, hated fugitive."
Qwark gulps again, trembling in another wave of terror.
"But, if you somehow manage to pull this off, we can rebuild your reputation," Drek continues. "The galaxy will come to love you once more. And everything will be as it should be."
"I…" Qwark's head drops, and his sad green eyes lock onto his feet. He has no other choice. "Alright."
"It's settled then," Drek declares, tenting his fingers. He lowers one hand and points the other at the door. "Now get out of my sight! I will contact you when I require your services. I must think of a contingency plan should the Lombax and the defect manage to find and destroy the Planet Buster Maximus."
Pokitaru, Jowai Resort…
Rivet slowly sits up in bed, stretching out her aching muscles and releasing a slow, tired yawn. She did not sleep well last night. Most of it was spent wide awake, staring at the ceiling or a wall. And when she did sleep, it was plagued with dreams… first she dreamt of home. Veldin. Homesickness strikes her heart as her thoughts turn over the images of her garage, her workspace, the itchy sand and the towering cliffs, everything, in her mind. Thoughts of home then melted into flashes of darkness and death, the nightmares tearing back into the forefront of her mind. Boned hands tearing through the earth and clawing at her feet, trying to pull her back down… and a massive set of gnarled tree roots curl around her neck, the tendrils piercing and slowly digging deeper and deeper into flesh…
She couldn't breathe, she can't—
Rivet scrambles out of the bed, the blanket tangling around her legs and almost sending her tumbling to the floor. Her hands are suddenly damp with sweat, her arms and legs following suit, and then the rest of her body. She manages to tug her legs free of the blanket, which now hangs off of the bed, and she retreats to the corner of the room.
Her back presses against the cool wooden wall, and she slides down, only stopping when her rear hits the cream-carpeted floor. Her breaths come shakily, her heart pounding against her chest. She pulls her legs up close to her body and wraps her arms around them, trembling in waves. Her bushy tail curls lightly around her bare feet.
Slowly, the sweat begins to dry. Rivet's breathing grows steadier, and her body trembles less. She lets her arms fall back to her sides, and her feet slide forward a bit.
Her thoughts start becoming coherent again, and through the tangled mess, one sentence finally comes through and escapes her lips.
"What the heck just happened?"
She pushes herself onto her feet and slowly stumbles into the bathroom. Rivet stops in front of the sink, bare hands trembling. The feline reaches for the faucet handle and turns it. Cold water spills out of the faucet. She cups her hands underneath the stream, wetting the fur once more, and then splashes it onto her face.
She turns off the faucet and rests her hands on the edges of the basin. She stares at her reflection, breathing slowly and loudly. "You're fine, you're okay, everything's okay… everything is okay…"
Her stomach twists, as though it doesn't believe her.
"… and you can have it for half-price: seven thousand bolts!"
Pierre holds the open box containing the suit out to Rivet and Klunk, both of whom have their arms crossed.
"Seven thousand bolts is still kind of a lot," Rivet points out, frowning. "I could buy a crap-ton of ammo for that."
Pierre dramatically places his hand to his chest and quickly looks away, as though his feelings have just been hurt. "Still better protection than what you are currently wearing, cherie."
Rivet rolls her eyes, shaking her head. "Four thousand."
"Err, you drive a hard bargain," Pierre says uncertainly. "Tell you what. I will let it go for six thousand five hundred."
"Four thousand five hundred," Rivet shoots back just as quickly.
"Six thousand?"
"Four thousand seven hundred. Not a bolt more."
Rivet and Pierre stare at each other a long moment, unblinking, waiting for the other to say something more. Finally, with a tired sigh, Pierre relents. "Four thousand seven hundred it is."
"Pleasure doing business with you, Pierre."
As Rivet reaches for the armor, he quickly pulls out of her reach.
"Ah, ah, ah." The pirate captain wags his finger at the duo. "Four thousand seven hundred is still not quite a fair bargain. If you're going to short-change me where bolts are concerned, then there is something else you must do for me if you want the armor."
Rivet heaves a sigh, shoulders slumping. "What do you want, Pierre?"
"You both must not only attend our wedding," Pierre answers, waving his hand towards Slag, who is discussing something with Felton Razz, "but you must also bring a gift!"
Klunk releases a squelch, lightly smacking the palm of his hand to his face. As he drops his hand, he looks up at Rivet, who meets his gaze. They both nod, and return their attention to Pierre.
"Very well," Klunk tells him, eyes narrowed with annoyance. "I suppose we can attend and bring you a gift."
"Oui!" Pierre holds the box out to Rivet. "Here you are then." She slowly reaches for it, watching to see if the self-proclaimed "pirate extraordinaire" is going to suddenly pull it away again. He doesn't, and so she takes the box from his hands. He then removes his hat and offers a quick, flourished bow. "Au revoir, cherie. Voyages en toute sécurité."
And with that, he swirls away and sidles on over to Slag and Felton.
Rivet shares a look with Klunk, and they both turn around, heading for their ship. "What do you suppose he expects us to bring?" Klunk asks, still visibly irritated. "A new sword?"
"I dunno." Rivet shrugs, looking down and examining the armor more closely. It definitely looks quite a bit more durable than her current armor, which is a deal worse for the wear now.
Her once bright red jacket is permanently stained with splotches of green from all the mutant swarmer encounters, as are her pants and shirt. The metal plating along her arms and gloves has tiny scratches in it, and her boots also splotched from mutant swarmers and mud. Even her favorite orange scarf is barely recognizable at this point.
"But let's worry about that later," Rivet continues. "We still need to hit up Gaspar and see if we can find anything there." Klunk hums, tilting his head. He taps his chin and his partner stops, glancing over to see him watching her. "What?"
"Are you alright?"
She sighs, shrugging. "I didn't sleep that good last night. Too wound up."
"Rivet," Klunk starts, dropping his hand. "Your stress levels are much higher this morning than usual— at least, when you are at rest. What happened?"
"Nothing, it's nothing," Rivet tells him hastily, heading around to the back of their ship and fumbling with her glove to find the button to open the cargo bay door. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
"As your partner, I feel it necessary to point out that you are clearly not fine," Klunk retorts, his voice growing blunt and almost harsh. He squelches again, shaking his head and crossing his arms. "Your heart rate just spiked again."
"Okay!" Rivet snaps, whirling back around to face him. Her shoulders slump as she sees him back away slightly, startled. "Okay," she says more softly. "You're right. I'm… I'm not feeling too hot right now. Couldn't sleep, had freaky weird dreams…" She closes her eyes a moment, taking a deep breath, before opening them again and continuing. "But I— we have to keep going. We don't know what Drek's next move is, and every second we spend talking about my… whatever the heck is going on with my mind is another second he has to pick the next planet to destroy."
A moment of silence.
"… I cannot argue with that logic," Klunk finally replies.
Rivet kneels down and pats his shoulder gently. "I… appreciate your concern, okay? I really do. I just… we were too late for Eudora…" She quickly shakes her head, standing up. "I'll be in the cargo bay getting changed. Be up in the cockpit in a few."
Klunk slowly nods, trudging towards the front of the ship. Rivet watches him as he walks, sighing again and looking down at her new armor. She slips into the cargo bay, and with a hum and a thunk, the door shuts behind her.
Gaspar, Blarg Research Outpost— Blarg Depot…
"Ship sensors indicate high levels of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, methane…" Klunk trails off, scrolling through the list. "I will not bore you with the entire reading and simply recommend that you put on your O2 mask before we exit the vessel."
"Got it." Rivet, now clad in what Pierre Le Fer dubbed the "Robot Pirate Armor," slips the O2 mask over her face. The armor is mostly white, with black and blue highlights— oddly enough, the boots have reddish-orange highlights, although it does kind of work in that it introduces some contrast.
She opens up the cockpit of the ship and clambers out first.
Only when she feels Klunk's weight settling on her back does she step away, heading for the elevator platform ahead. She pauses, then changes direction, heading for the Gadgetron vendor stashed off to the side instead. She presses the button to activate, and is quickly greeted by Moby.
"Hey, fuzzball!" Moby sends fingerguns her way. "Been a little while! Nice outfit."
Rivet chuckles, offering a small smile. "Thanks. And yeah, it's been a hot minute." She studies the weapons the vendor has to offer one by one, eyes flicking over to the Devastator every now and then. "How are you?"
"Ehh." Moby shrugs. "Okay, I guess. Just bored."
Rivet finally tears her gaze away from the Devastator, silently promising herself next time, and instead settles on the Hydra'n Seek, which she can only afford because it's— thankfully— on sale. There is no way she would have the bolts for it if it was full price.
After purchasing the weapon, she thanks Moby again and says goodbye. She sprints back towards the elevator platform, Hydra'n Seek equipped. She steps onto the flat sheet of metal, and nearly loses her balance as it jerks forward. "Again," Rivet grumbles, "people really need to start putting safety rails on these things."
Upon reaching the stretch of land at the bottom, Rivet spies a small swarm of chomper bot things waddling around. One of them stops, looking directly at her, and then whips its head up, screeching bloody murder.
Rivet sprints towards the small robot and its now alert brethren, pulling down on the trigger and releasing a massive burst of electricity, the branches spreading out and electrocuting all the chompers within range. The bots explode, decorating the ground with machine parts and melted circuitry.
The three Blarg troopers ahead, equipped with only Combustors, stare in horror at the destruction. Rivet slowly trudges on forward, watching them.
"Anyone else?"
One of the Blarg soldiers takes aim at her, their hands trembling as they try to steady their Combustor. The other two start backing away slowly, dropping their weapons and raising their hands in surrender.
"Drop it," Rivet tells the lone trooper standing their ground. "Or lose it."
A/N: I liked the name for the Annihilation Nation challenge "Hydra'n Seek" more than the weapon's actual name, so I renamed it, lol.