Rivet marveled at the ship while she flew to the coordinates Ratchet had given her. While at a glance it seemed less advanced than the ship she had stolen from the emperor, it proved to be strikingly advanced on further examination. It was heavier armed, (In that it had guns at all) had a communications system that rivalled even modern ones, and even cup holders!
She had been somewhat concerned about the AI that controlled the ship, but since its personality matrix was heavily damaged it lacked any kind of individuality. The only way it communicated to her was in the same blank and monotone robotic voice that it had used on Fastoon. This came as a relief to her at first, but then the guilt for that feeling hit soon after.
Being partners with Kit and working with Clank had changed how she viewed robots and AI, but old habits die hard. Especially when they had kept you from doing the same. At the very least, she didn't have to worry about hurting this one's feelings. Without a functional personality matrix it lacked the emotions and higher thought processes needed for self awareness, instead acting much like the VI version of Aphelion. Albeit with far greater speed thanks to the more advanced programming.
Most of the trip had been spent with her getting a rundown from Periapsis on precisely how to pilot the ship properly and the features of both the AI and the ship itself. In the midst of this explanation she saw just how quickly they would arrive at their destination which had been on the other end of the galaxy. She had been listening to the AI talk for about a half an hour at that point and expected to still have several hours left till her arrival.
They would arrive in another half hour.
"Periapsis." She interrupted the voice in the middle of its explanation.
"Yes Rivet?"
"How fast are we going right now, and what's your top speed?" She asked with trepidation.
"We are currently at mid-jump speed which approximately equals 100,000c, or 100,000 times the speed of light. Outside of jump speed this vessel is capable of moving at .5c per hour, or half a light year per hour. The fastest jump speed recorded with this particular model ship is 200,000c, at which point the ship overloaded and exploded. We could theoretically accelerate to that speed, though it is not recommended." The AI spoke as though what it had said wasn't incredible. That made this one of the fastest ships in the known universe, the only potential rivals being Aphelion and any other lombax ships. Rivet's mouth hung open in shock.
Eventually she shook herself free. "Were there any ships the lombaxes made that went faster than the Angel class?"
"None on internal records. The Angel class fighter was designed to be a rapid response interceptor, but over time was adapted to also allow for long range scouting missions as well as high risk individual operations in hostile territory. This necessitated the best in jump and engine technology for speed, longevity and reliability. This led the Angel class to be the ship of choice for members of the Praetorian Guard as well as special operations personnel."
"Wow. So this is the fastest ship the lombaxes ever built?" Her question was rhetorical, but the AI had no way of telling.
"In theory. Test labs could very well have designed vessels capable of travelling faster than the Angel class, though if they did the vessels were never placed into active duty." The robot clarified. Rivet ran her hand over the dashboard in front of her. She knew the lombaxes had been extreme engineers to put it lightly, but to have the height of what they had been capable of put into numbers was incredible.
"Do you have any other queries as to either my or the ship's capabilities?" The AI asked. Rivet said no and it went into standby until it was needed. She sat back in her seat, still in disbelief that this ship was hers. She hadn't stolen it from someone or pieced it together over the course of a few years. She didn't even have to pay for it!
It was hers… and she had Ratchet to thank for it.
She could thank him for a lot actually. Not just the ship and a newfound connection to who she was, but a feeling she'd never really had before. Like she wasn't alone.
Sure she'd had her fair share of friends and connections, but none of them shared the same bond that they had. One forged in a profound loneliness that was hard to comprehend for those that didn't live through it. To not know what had happened to your own people, to your family. To always know that you were the last of your kind and that nothing would ever change that. How could anyone understand that without living it?
As she thought about it, she realized that even amongst other lombaxes they would still share that. They, together, would be alone in a crowd just like them down to their DNA. It was a special connection between the two of them, and most certainly one she didn't want to go away anytime soon.
Though, that did raise the question of how much he valued this connection. Did he give it the same weight that she did? Would he care to keep her around after they finally went home? Would they still be together in a year? Ten?
Wait. She thought. Since when do I care about that? Do I-
Her thoughts were cut short by an alert letting her know that she would be arriving momentarily. Shelving the thoughts and the all too familiar pit in her stomach, she prepared for the oncoming deceleration.
It was chaos from the moment it happened. No sooner had her surroundings materialized than they suddenly exploded in violent hues of red and orange. The jump had popped her out in the middle of an intense conflict.
She immediately grabbed the controls and flew the ship out of the conflict zone to get her bearing on just what was going on. Periapsis had apparently done the latter for her, scanning the entire area while she got them to safety. "Rivet. I have scanned the surrounding area and have prepared a sitrep for you."
"Okay…" She was hesitant at first, still very much unused to this whole thing. "Let's hear it."
"Ratchet was indeed correct in there being a space station at the given coordinates. If it belongs to Max Apogee or not is currently unknown." The display in the middle of the console showed a rendered 3D model of the station. "The station is presently under heavy attack from a cragmite fleet consisting of two frigate class vessels with accompanying fighters. Residual signatures indicate that a far larger ship was at one point a part of the attack but has since left."
"How is the station holding up to the attack?"
"The station's defense systems are currently holding the fleet beyond the maximum distance for their main guns, preventing any significant damage for now, but small arms fire from fighters and long shots from the frigates are starting to take their toll. Scans of the wreckage between the fleet and the station indicate many attempts by fighters and boarding parties to deactivate the defenses. It is likely that at least a few parties made it aboard the station. Would you like me to hail them?"
Rivet told it to do just that and waited to see what would happen. After a handful of moments the display changed to static and then cleared revealing a Markazian man, his face dominated by facial hair and an annoyed look in his eye. His attention was aimed away from the camera. "Whoever you are, you picked a bad time for a visit."
"Max Apogee?" Rivet asked.
"That depends. Who's this?" An understandable response given his situation.
"Name's Rivet, and I'm here to see if you can point me to the lombax secret." When she said her name he redirected his attention from whatever console he had been focused on. When he saw that she actually was a lombax his eyes went wide.
"Well Rivet, I'd be happy to do that, but as you've no doubt noticed I'm a little preoccupied at the moment." As he made the remark something behind him exploded and she recognized the sound of fire suppression systems kicking on to contain it. "Help me keep this station in one piece and I'll give you whatever you want." He offered.
"You got a deal. What can I do?"
"Well, the primary threat is the boarding parties. They're getting closer to the reactors with every minute, and if those go down, so do the defenses. After that are the fighters. If we can get rid of both, that leaves just those frigates and the window we need to get away. Take your pick."
"Rivet, if I might offer a solution?" Periapsis cut in.
"Uhhh. Sure." She said, somewhat stunned by the interjection.
"I am capable of operating the ship in a combat scenario with skill comparable to a class three pilot. If you would like, you may land on the station to deal with the boarding parties while I engage the fighters in conjunction with the station defenses."
"Can you actually do that?"
"Assuming you are as capable in combat as my previous pilot, I calculate an 83.76% chance of mission success with a variable of-"
"Okay, okay I get it. We'll go with that plan." She interrupted the AI now knowing from experience with Kit that if she let it start going on about statistics she'd never get the mission done. "Max, am I clear to land?"
"You are now. The automated defenses won't target you, but I can't contact my battle bots. They're still alive somewhere on this floating tomb, but I don't know where and they might attack you on sight. If they do, don't destroy them please. Most of their parts are irreplaceable at this point."
"No promises." Was all she could offer the man as the feed went dead and she dove back into the battlefield. Even though the station's defenses weren't shooting at them anymore, they were shooting at the cragmite fighters all around them, making the approach to the station a maze of fire and flak. While Rivet couldn't claim to be as good a pilot as Ratchet, she was still plenty skilled enough to make a path through the chaos, if with a few close calls.
Coming in for a hot landing on the platform with a pair of fighters hot on her tail, she launched herself free of the ship and rolled to her feet with the force. Her magneboots kicked in as they connected with the ground underneath her, making her stomach lurch a bit from the sudden stop. Thankfully she was able to keep what lunch she did have down since her helmet appeared as soon as she was in a vacuum. Periapsis took off into the void from behind her, guns already charging.
A quick glance at her surroundings revealed a console that and a door locked tight that was the only way into the station. She ran up and put in a code that Max had beamed out to her. Not long after a hissing noise came from the door as the airlock depressurised before allowing her in. Rushing in she closed the airlock behind her and felt the artificial gravity settle all across her body, signalling she could deactivate her boots while the hiss all around her let her know she could take off her helmet.
Once there was air around her she could hear the explosions from deeper in the station and felt them shake the floor beneath her. And the cause of those explosions confronted her as soon as the other end of the airlock opened. An entire squad of cragmite commandos in the middle of trying to cut through some security doors on the other side of a large room turned to greet her.
Before one of them could even say 'lombax' she had already engaged them, taking out a fair share right off the bat and mopping up the rest soon after. She activated her suit's communicator. "Max, I'm on the station and already took out a team. Where am I headed next?"
"The generators are on the bottom floor of the facility. All you have to do is get there, take out any cragmites on the way and get the internal defenses back on down there." He told her. "That ship of yours is doing a stellar job of keeping more boarding parties away, but best not to take chances, especially since my internal sensors are fried."
"Got it." The security door the cragmites had been trying to get through hissed open for her. Checking her map, she went through and started to sweep her way through the facility. The map gave no indication of where the commandos were, so the only solution to finding them was to check every room and hallway between her and the generators.
It didn't take long for her to get impatient with this though, and she quickly started using her boots to propel herself through the halls at a high speed. That picked up the pace massively as she flew along, even taking out two more commando teams as she went. And as both of them fell she picked up even more speed and confidence.
That lasted right up until she burst through a door too quickly, only to discover it was the emergency stairs. Luckily though, there was the waiting face of a cragmite commando to keep her from tumbling down the steps. She bounced off them, sending them sprawling in her stead while she twisted in mid-air and grabbed the railing, starting to grind down it soon after.
Between the cragmite barreling down the steps and her grinding her way down the rail with hammer in hand, she managed to take out a good number of cragmites who were slowly trying to use their warp to go down the stairs. Leaping off the very end, she did a little flip for style right as the heap of limp cragmites slumped to a stop at the bottom of the steps.
Coming out of the stairwell on the bottom floor, she heard the sound of gunfire from an already active fight up ahead from behind a door. Double checking her map she determined that it was the generator room and went in immediately.
The room was fairly large with a window on the far end that looked out over the generator for the station and a control console just in front of that. Guarding the console was a pair of robots in deployable cover who were shouting at the two new cragmite teams that Rivet now found herself flanking.
"Oh great, another craig-mite!" One of the robots called out, oddly sounding like an incredibly old man. The other popped up out of cover to confirm for himself and responded in an equally old voice.
"No you dang idjit, that there's a lombax!"
Both the robots started bickering back and forth about whether or not she actually was a lombax, both seeming to have trouble remembering what a lombax was supposed to look like. The cragmites also heard what they said and turned to confirm it, though it was already too late for them as most of them met the business end of Rivet's blaster in the next instant.
Glancing around, she saw deactivated turrets mounted on the walls. Hopefully those won't take too long to fix. She thought to herself as the last of the cragmites were taken care of. With that done, she turned her attention to the two robots still arguing near the console. They were in the middle of arguing whether or not she should have a tail.
"You know, you two could just ask me if I'm a lombax or not." She pointed out as she walked up to them. She presumed that these were the warbots Max had been talking about before, and his comment before about them possibly attacking her proved to also be true as both turned and fired at her after she spoke. She managed to quickly dash to the side, leaving a smoldering scorch mark where she had been standing just a moment before.
"Why should we believe you anyway!? You might be one of them craig-mites in disguise." The warbot on her left called out to her, but didn't shoot again. In response, she propped her hammer on her shoulder and pointed over her other with her thumb towards the pile of now dead cragmites. The warbots both looked where she pointed and lowered their weapons after.
"Okay, fine. Are you a lombax?" The one on her right asked and she nodded in response, even turning a bit to show off her tail and ears. Both the bots stared for a moment before shouting with joy.
"Well I'll be darned! It's been too long since I've seen one of ya. Done forgot what ya looked like." She heard from her right again. Now that she was closer and didn't have to fear getting shot she could get a better look at both of them. The one on her right had a head that was distinctly beak shaped, the entire thing opening whenever it talked. The one on her left had an appearance more typical of a humanoid, but with a head more cylindrical in shape. It was also taller than the other by about half a meter.
"So I heard. Are you two Max's warbots?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am." They both said at the same time with a salute.
"Brigadier General Cronk, at your service!" The one to her left introduced itself, followed quickly by the right. "Lieutenant Colonel Zephyr, ready for duty!"
"Ooookay." She said quietly to herself. They both continued to stand at attention for her while she went over to the console to check the status on the generators and defenses. While the generators had definitely seen better days, the defenses seemed practically brand new. She tried to access them to get them up and running, but something kept blocking her access. Running a diagnostic on the system as a whole, the problem was revealed to be a virus.
The commandos must have uploaded it. Good thing Ratchet left Glitch with me. She thought to herself as she took out the card that held the little program. The hologram of the spider bot looked up at her happily and waved her gun hello. She couldn't help but smile at the gesture. "Glitch, I need you to go into this system and get rid of the virus keeping the turrets offline. Can you do that?"
The little bot nodded her whole body vigorously with a wide smile before turning and hopping into the computer as Rivet brought the card close.
Letting Glitch do her work, she looked at both of the warbots, still standing at attention. "Do either of you know why the cragmites are attacking anyway?"
"Oh well that's easy." Cronk started. "They're here because they consider me a threat, having kicked their scaly behinds back during the war."
"What? Your logic circuits must be fried again." Zephyr responded. "Clearly they're here for me."
"You!? You can't even download your Kalanion dirty magazines without giving the station a virus!" Cronk pointed at his friend in accusation. Guess that answers where the virus came from. Rivet thought to herself.
Both the bots started another heated argument, now about who it was that the cragmites were here to kill. It only took a few traded jabs between the two before Rivet found herself pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. Note to self, don't ask these two anything ever.
"OKAY." She said loudly, bringing their argument to a stop just before it came to blows. Just then the turrets around the room came to life, with great timing as well as more cragmites came through the doors only to be torn to shreds by them. The three sentient defenders didn't even have to lift a finger.
"For now the generators are safe so let's go meet up with Max." She told the warbots as she retrieved Glitch from the computer.
They gave her one more salute and followed her out of the room and towards the nearest elevator. The lab that Max was in was at the very top of the station, making the elevator the more attractive option. Even with the muzak.
The elevator ride was at least peaceful enough. The station still occasionally shook from the dogfight outside, but it wasn't too bad. There was an awkward moment when Zephyr had tried to convince her that his father had been half lombax, but she only gave him a perplexed look and stopped the argument that almost followed when Cronk tried to correct him and say it was his mother.
Soon enough, they arrived at the top of the station. According to the label on the button in the elevator (or at least what was written on the tape that covered it) it was the lab, and looked very much like one. True, she hadn't exactly been in many labs during her time, but when she heard the word, this was certainly what she pictured.
Analytics machines buzzing and whirring while vials and containers of materials were scattered all over, not to mention that every conceivable corner and otherwise open space was covered in either books or loose papers that showed long analytics reports. All the papers she could see were written in what she could at least recognize to be Markazian, but that didn't mean she could translate it.
Judging from the lombax artifacts that were the targets of analysis though, she would be very much interested in what they had to say. She vaguely registered Cronk and Zephyr move to a pair of consoles as she wandered over to one machine that was progressively scanning a sphere that she recognized to be a lorb as Ratchet had described to her before, pressing her hand and almost her face against the glass.
"I wouldn't do that." She turned to see who had spoken and saw Max standing in a doorway into what looked like had been a kitchen at one point, but now mirrored the room she was in. "While low in energy, that scanner is still radioactive."
"I took care of your boarding parties and my ship is taking care of your fighter problem. Time for you to keep your end of the deal." She pointed out and walked over to him. His face grew somehow more serious.
"The lombax secret huh? I swear digging up that relic was the worst decision I ever made. I should have realized that whoever hid the darn thing did it for a reason." He wandered over to an array of consoles as he spoke. They didn't seem to be connected to the lab equipment, but rather the station overall judging by the information on the screens.
"Is that why the cragmites are attacking? Because you found the secret?" She followed after him and frowned when he shook his head.
"If only I were so lucky." He sighed heavily as the station shook again, knocking some books from a nearby table. "The only thing I've found is trouble, and now it's about to cost me everything."
"I need you to explain." She told him.
"I've been on the trail of the lombax secret for years. Everything I found, every mention I could dredge to the surface told me it was the weapon they had used to finally defeat the cragmites years ago. I thought that if I found it, I could use it to help put an end to the emperor." He reached to one side and picked up a picture in a frame that was sitting on a nearby desk. Rivet couldn't get a very good look at it, but it seemed to be of a female markazian. "I gave up so much to chase after it, then you and that other lombax beat me to the punch."
He shot her a sideways glare. While she knew it was more meant as a halfhearted jab, she could see a little bit of ire in his eyes. He had really been trying to find it to save people and had lost that chance because of her and Ratchet.
"Still, the emperor falling meant I could suddenly go to even more planets and chase down even more leads. Did that for a few months before I finally found it." He trailed off while he put the picture back down.
"Found what? You said you didn't find the secret." He shook his head.
"I found the map to it. At least I think I did."
"You don't know!?"
"Whatever it was that I found, I couldn't crack it. As far as I know it can only be opened by a lombax. I tried to get it open anyway, or even to find out what was in it, but nothing I tried could get it." He put his back to her as he started tapping away on the console.
"Wait. The way you're talking, it sounds like you don't have it anymore."
"Because I don't." He said matter-of-factly over his shoulder.
"Then where is it!?" Her patience was wearing thin.
He pointed out a nearby window at the frigates still hovering out of range. Her eyes went wide as she stared out at them.
"They have it!? Out there right now!?" She ran over to the window.
"I don't think so. Before they started attacking, their leader came aboard peacefully and offered me a deal. I give them the artifact and they let me live. I didn't really have much choice seeing as they could just kill me and take it, so I agreed." He moved from the console and over to the device scanning the lorb. "I think he left on a bigger ship that came with them and he left the frigates behind to deal with me."
"You just gave them the key to the lombax secret!?" The pang of guilt that shot through him was clear on his face, but any sympathy she might have had for him that moment was lost in her anger.
"I know I shouldn't have, but it was either that or my life."
"There are many who would choose to give up the latter first."
"Maybe. But I weighed my options, and decided my life was worth more than a lombax artifact that neither he or I could open."
"So it's gone, and I've lost my only lead to the lombax secret." She threw her hands up in exasperation.
"Maybe, or maybe not." Max said as the device scanning the lorb hissed and deactivated before opening. He picked it up out of the chamber and walked over to her before holding it out. "I found this right alongside the artifact. I haven't been able to get anything out of it, but then again I'm not short and furry. Maybe it can point you in the right direction."
Rivet hesitated for a moment as she reached out to touch it, but quickly shook it off, reminding herself she didn't really have time for something like hesitance.
She took the lorb from him, it's smooth surface cool to the touch and providing her a reflection of her own awestruck face, distorted by a swirling mass of blue underneath. And…
Nothing happened.
Holding it for a few more moments while still a little slack jawed, she tried to get it to activate. From what Ratchet told her, all he had to do was touch it and the information was transmitted directly into his digital log, in his case audio recordings from someone named Mags. She checked her log, but found nothing. She shook the orb around a bit and even gave it a bit of a squeeze but still nothing. She looked up at Max who seemed to be hoping she would get something out of it.
"I can't get anything out of this." She told him. His hand drifted up to stroke his beard as he thought.
"Might be you need some kind of passphrase or something. I can't say for sure though, seeing as this is lombax technology."
"I thought you studied this stuff?" She accused him.
"That doesn't mean I understand it. Lombax technology was just that advanced. Everything your kind made is practically a black box technology. I could probably spend whatever's left of my life studying that orb and come no closer to understanding how it works." He went back to the station control console and tapped a few more keys.
"Then what am I supposed to do since this is seeming like a dead end?" She asked, gesturing to the lorb while she lifted it with one hand.
"For now, keep that. It might come in handy later if you can figure out how it works. Other than that, I'll send your ship the trajectory that the leader took off in. Maybe you can follow after it and get the dang thing back." He tapped away some more on the computer before turning to talk to her once more.
"What will you do then? You said this was your life's work. I can't imagine you're going to be in any rush to just leave it behind."
The old markazian peeled his eyes away from her to look around the lab, the sorrow and mourning in his face easily read. He sighed with the weight of years spent in this room, all about to go up in flames. "It has been my life's work. But that doesn't mean I have to go to my grave with it. I'll still have my data, my connections, my friends and my memories. And who knows…" He trailed off as his eyes lingered on the picture of the woman. "Maybe I'll even give it all up and start a new life's work. Regardless, I'll have that option thanks to you. I realize I was a bit blunt before, and I apologize. Truly, if you hadn't come when you did, this station would most assuredly be my grave."
"Bah." She waved her free hand at him nonchalantly. "I haven't saved anyone yet. Not until the cragmites are beaten again and the dimensions are safe. Again. And even once I do that, there will probably just be another villain of the week waiting in line right behind them."
While she mostly meant it as a joke, a not so small part of her actually did believe it. It practically felt like her home had been dangled in front of her face by the universe only to have it ripped away, and frankly she was afraid that it might happen again. She wasn't about to go into that with the old man though.
"Well, you lombaxes did it once, I'm sure you can do it again. Even if it is just the two of you against an empire." He assured her, and he did a pretty good job of making it sound believable. His conversation with the lombax done, he turned to the warbots that had been manning defense stations while sharing idle banter back and forth. "Cronk, Zephyr. Reroute all power to the defenses and get them fully automated, then get to the ship. We need to get out of this sector."
Both the bots responded in the affirmative and tapped away with all the more fervor at their keyboards. He turned back to her. "You ought to do the same. Even at full power, the fully automated defenses won't be able to keep those frigates at range. They'll tear this place apart in seconds."
Rivet nodded and took the opportunity to call Periapsis in for a pick up. As the now fully automated defenses made it's participation in the dogfight unnecessary, it easily broke off to go and wait at the airlock she had entered through.
Before she went towards the elevator back down though, she thought about the old man there beside her. She looked and saw shoulders slumped and tired, framing a face painted in guilt for the choice he had made. And while rage still burned in her gut because of that, she also knew he had at least done something, both now to make amends, and back during the reign of the emperor when no one else would. More than that, he also clearly needed help to take some of the weight off, and no one deserved to be denied that.
When she tried to think of what to do though, she faltered. If the problem was more straightforward, she could at least hit it. That was more her forte. Feelings though? She was outright terrible. So rather than what she would do, she tried to think of what her newfound friends might do.
As much as she had grown to like the bot, she couldn't picture Kit helping much in this particular situation. While better at parsing out her feelings, she couldn't claim to be much better than Rivet and both knew it. That left Ratchet and Clank, and while she had adventured with Clank and seen his problem solving first hand, she had seen Ratchet talk with enough political figures and forge agreements that she had a much better grasp on his methodology. How he could come to understand someone and see things from their side.
Taking that to heart, she stamped her ire and extended her hand out towards Max. "Thank you."
He glanced down at her hand then up to her eyes. "Can't say I did very much, other than put the dimensions at risk to save my own skin." He pointed out with more than a little remorse.
"Maybe. But you at least tried to help me make it right. That counts for something, right?"
She hoped this was what he needed. To be reminded that, even though he messed up, he could still do his best to fix things.
A grin split his aged face, wrinkling laugh lines otherwise hidden in his beard. "A fair point young lady." He said as he grabbed her hand and shook. Despite the difference in size of their bodies, their hands were actually fairly similar in stature. "Good luck."
"You too." She started to walk towards the elevator, but turned around right as the doors to the lift opened and grabbed his attention once more.
"If you manage it, let me know how that other life works out for you. Can't be a hero forever, you know?" He locked eyes with her one last time, a joy in his eyes that had been absent up till now.
"I'll be sure to do that." He said, making the silent promise to stay alive long enough to do just that.
The lift quickly carried her down to where the airlock was, though not quickly enough to avoid the terrible saxophone tones coming out of the speaker. At least, until she figured the station was doomed regardless.
Stepping off the lift that now had a thoroughly broken and demolished intercom system, she ran for the airlock right as explosions started to cascade through the halls. It seemed the frigates had moved into firing range, making critical systems detonate all over, and she was running the risk of getting caught up in it if she didn't hurry.
Activating her boots once more, she sped through the halls, dodging errant jets of flame, explosions and debris. The station was falling apart at the seams under the assault as bulkheads buckled and sheared.
She managed to make it within a few meters of the door to the airlock before the wall next to her suddenly erupted with violent force. She barely had time to register before she felt the shockwave reverse and begin to suck her out to the vacuum. She knew she could do little to prevent it and simply activated her helmet and clung to the lorb for dear life as she was ejected out into the void.
She received a few small cuts and bruises as she was launched through the jagged hole, but automated systems applied nanotech quickly to patch her suit and keep the cold of space at bay. A good thing too, because if it had been manual to apply it she would have been done for. All she knew was that she was currently tumbling endlessly through empty space, drifting off towards some random destination or none at all. If she didn't stop soon and get back to Periapsis, she'd just drift like this forever.
Before she could think to activate her hoverboots to stop her inertia though, she vaguely registered a shape a great deal similar to Periapsis as she spun before hitting something that was at least somewhat soft with a not so gracious thud. Shaking off the daze of the impact, she realized that the ship had actually come to her.
The canopy closed around her and repressurised, the hiss telling her she could take off her helmet. When she did, she was greeted by Periapsis monotone voice. "Pilot retrieved. Welcome back Rivet."
She was about to thank the ship for the rescue but then felt the entire thing shake, reminding her there was still a cragmite fleet right outside. "Periapsis, jump to the nearest populated planet!" She ordered him while she tried to climb back into the front seat from the back where she had landed.
She was halfway over the armrest when it jumped, throwing her right back into the back seat from the sudden acceleration. She barely saw the Apogee space station become an elongated smear of light as it exploded while they jumped, leaving the entire area behind at the same time as another ship on the other side of the station.
Given the ship's incredible speed it took just a minute for them to reach the nearest planet, and just as suddenly as she had been thrown backward, Rivet was now launched forward into the console. It was only thanks to her stellar reflexes that she managed to duck out of the way of the lorb that had also been launched forward, avoiding a more serious accident.
What followed were several tense moments for her. Her whole body, every strand of fur on edge as she waited for the next thing to go wrong. She was so sure that any second there would be an explosion, or malfunction or any number of other disasters. She held her breath for what felt like an eternity before finally settling that she actually was in the clear. She slumped down a little further, practically sinking into the floor while she let her captive breath go.
Once she had recovered, she stood and glanced out the window to see exactly where they had arrived. She saw a very blue planet almost completely dominated by water. Looking down at the computer she had nearly caved her skull in on, she saw that the ship had jumped them to Mukow, a kind of nowhere system. Last she heard, the only real activity here were some pirate enclaves, but they probably had bigger problems right now than just one tiny little ship.
She decided that they would be okay staying in orbit for the time being, at least until she decided where to go next. She only briefly ruminated on the experience she had just had before brushing it off and grabbing the lorb once more.
It bore no scratches nor any signs of wear and tear, it's smooth surface still pristine. The roiling blue mass beneath and her reflection on the skin still both offered nothing, the lorb still inert. She sighed and put it in the back under the seat. She'd just have to see if Ratchet knew of some special way to get whatever was stored inside of it out when she saw him next.
And with the lorb yielding no answers, that only left the trajectory and engine signatures of the leader's ship. "Periapsis, we got those readings from Max right?" She asked the ship.
"Yes. If you would like, I can analyze them and present the most likely trajectories for the ship in question."
"Please do."
"Done." It answered immediately. She was beginning to like having an AI around. The display changed from information about their current location to a star map plotting the most likely course for the leader's ship, as well as general information about the ship's signatures. "By my calculations, there is a 94.65% chance that they were headed for the planet Kortog. All other planets on the list have a less than 1% probability."
"Makes sense. Kortog has some of the greatest scientists in the galaxy. They might be trying to force them to come up with a way to open the artifact." She leaned in and examined the ship signature more closely, seeing if it was the dreadnought class Periapsis had flagged as having just left when they had arrived on the scene. While she did confirm that, she also saw something that was upsetting to say the least.
The ship's signature was exactly the same as Duke Vorselon's.
If he was working for the cragmites now, that meant that one of Nefarious' best commanders and any robots he still had under him were also in play. Not to mention that, while the cragmites were probably working off of star charts or info off the net, he had home field knowledge.
Something about the revelation that now a villain she had thought already beaten was rearing their ugly head made her all the more angry than she already was. Not to mention that she had to face him now because of Max. She needed some way to let that anger, that frustration out.
So she cursed. Loud and hard.
She held the note of the word for several moments, feeling it drag some of the tension and anger out of her body with it.
As the word died on her lips and she sighed heavily, Ratchet's voice suddenly cut in from her communicator. "Uhhh… Is this a bad time?" He asked, making her jump and replacing what tension had left her body with embarrassment.
