Rilena hummed as she watched the holographic screen coming from her glove, Takeria beside her with a cryo-glove and a Pulse Rifle. Rilena had her Goddess Blaster with all the ammo she needed, she was forgoing her ability to go melee with the gun though. "We close?" Takeria asked Rilena, who sighed as she looked up, trying to see anything further beyond the glowing trees and rivers.
Rilena and Takeria were on the surface of Aurora, searching for rumors of a possible settlement that resided on the surface. About two months ago, after Ratchet and Clank dealt with Nefarious with the help of the Galactic Rangers, as well as dealing with some other little tidbits, he was now dealing with someone called Percival Tachyon. When Ratchet called them at the Rebels to let them know, Clark ordered Rilena and Takeria to keep their heads low and to not let Percival know that Leopardis' still existed.
His words had confused the two. What the hell were Leopardis'?
Clank had said the same word to Takeria and, after confronting Clark about what they could be, he simply said go to the settlement on the surface for all secrets will be revealed. As a result, Takeria and Rilena decided to head to the surface and try to find this settlement that Clark spoke of. Clark had said that Rilena and Takeria were Leopardis' and that confused them…they simply thought they were a leopard of some kind. Conner seemed confused, saying the word was familiar to him as well and Rilena knew she needed to figure out what her and Takeria truly were.
"We're close to the coordinates that Clark gave us...but it's hard to see with the glowing plant light somewhat blocking my vision." Rilena hissed, smacking a branch away...only for it to fling back and hit her in the back of the head as she moved past it. "Gyah!" She rubbed where it hit and Takeria sighed, coming up to Rilena's side. "Calm yourself sweetheart. If it's true, we're almost there." She said softly to Rilena, who grumbled continuing forward.
During the few months, Rilena and Ratchet had grown closer through his constant visits and their constant conversations. There were moments Rilena wanted to confess she loved him...but she always stopped before she did. They were only twenty years old, she wasn't sure if it was a passing phase...yet something told her it wasn't. It had been a little over a year since she'd known Ratchet and her feelings for him had merely gotten stronger, they kept getting stronger whenever she saw him. She currently wondered if her current aggravation was due to him not being able to visit the past two months.
"Rilena, I think I see something." Takeria said, grabbing the Commander's attention. They hurried through, guns at the ready and Rilena froze as her and Takeria saw it. Broken down walls, ruined buildings and the beginnings of a farm were strewn about the area. They walked in, surprised to see standing observation towers. "What is this?" Rilena questioned herself, confused. Takeria stopped at a building, squinting her eyes as she wiped at something on the wall, eyes going wide. "Rilena, come over 'er!" She called out and Rilena turned toward her, rushing over. "What is it?" She asked and Takeria pointed at the wall.
"It looks like that Lombax symbol...but different somehow." She commented and Rilena looked at it as well, it did look like the Lombax Praetorian Guard poster Ratchet found on the abandoned Fastoon but different. The ears were shorter and there were markings on the face colored in with a 'S' shape behind the head in what Rilena guessed might've been a tail. "Never seen it before but it does resemble the Praetorian Guard poster Ratchet and Clank showed us." Rilena said, holding her tablet up to the symbol and it took a picture. She looked around before turning her gaze to the ground, then brought up the holographic map on her glove.
She frowned. "That can't be right." She said softly, eyes wide as she grabbed her tablet, typing some stuff in. "What is it sugah?" Takeria asked Rilena, tilted her head softly. "It says were right above base camp...but I thought base camp was directly below the sun crystal." She put the tablet away, the map closing on her glove. "After all, a portion of the crystal sticks above ground to soak up the sunlight, while a majority is in the ceiling of our base to give us sunlight."
Takeria hummed, rubbing her chin a bit. "Is it possible that our sun crystal might be part of a larger one?" Takeria questioned and Rilena frowned, thinking a bit. "Maybe...but I don't know." She said softly, looking at the grass. Suddenly she noticed there were trails in the ground...trails of dead grass and she raised a brow. Animals didn't wander here...did they? Not only that, they wouldn't leave trails like this! "What the…" She followed the trail, ignoring Takeria questioning her.
She stopped in the center of the ruined city and knelt down...the ground was unnaturally warm. A patch of dead grass was dead center...and was rather large. Rilena brought up her tablet, turning the scan sensor on and began scanning the ground. The scan indicated there was a large amount of UV radiation right below her, shocking Rilena. She scanned a bit of ways out and found that the UV radiation went off in four different directions. One in the direction of the crystals to their northeast, one the northwest, southwest and southeast.
"There's a huge amount of UV radiation right below us." Rilena said, shocking Takeria. "UV radiation is what the sun crystal gives us, as it replaces an actual sun." Takeria commented and Rilena nodded, thinking a bit before her eyes widened. "The area where General Zigas drops supplies for us is around the sun crystal that peaks above the ground, which is to the northeast of us." She commented, thinking a bit.
It was possible there was a whole network underneath them, like the roots of a tree...but in this case it was a sun crystal. Below her was the sun crystal that they had at their base, since their base was right below their feet, which was under this settlement that seemed to hold secrets. To each of the other three points of their planet; northwest, southwest and southeast must be a sun crystal location as well and they all had to be connected! The one to the northeast was exposed, allowing the sun crystal to obtain sunlight when the sun would shine once a month.
The sunlight was transferred from the exposed crystal and passed to other sun crystals, all the energy transferred. As they used the energy at their base, most energy was transferred to their central point. Looking at the grass as well, Rilena concluded the sun crystal network was also absorbing the energy the plant life obtained from the sun to keep it fueled. Rilena relayed this information to Takeria, whose jaw dropped as her eyes widened. "If there's a whole network, then we need ta go ta these other points and expose the crystal there as well, allow it ta get more energy."
Rilena nodded as she stood. "We can do that later, we need to find out what secret the Leopardis' hold and why we are supposedly part of the Leopardis race...as Clark claims." Rilena stated and Takeria nodded, standing as well and they continued their search. They found a somewhat intact house and walked in, looking through the rotten wood to find anything useful...when Rilena found a notebook. "Takeria, isn't this the same design as you have on your notebook?" Rilena questioned the black feline, who walked over.
"Sure looks like it sugah." She responded, looking at the notebook. On the cover was a triangle with a circle at each point, all sides were the same length and the circles were a faded color. Red, blue and purple. Rilena hummed and opened the book, some words were faded and the language was a bit odd...she could hardly read it but it all seemed familiar to her. Takeria perked upon seeing the words, saying; "That's the same language my pa used to write in. He wrote in the universal language we all know, as well as this." She pointed at the words and Rilena handed the book over.
"Some of this looks like Lombax language as well." Rilena commented, making Takeria nod. "Can prob get Clark to decipher this if needed." Rilena nodded before she bumped into a desk and it toppled over, spilling a few stuff and she noticed a few small chips that fell out of a bag, making her pick it up. "Chips?" She commented, they were computer chips meant for transferring data. Whoever once lived in this settlement had some form of technology then.
"Might have info about that Leopardis race." Takeria said with a shrug. "Maybe." Rilena replied before they left the ruined house, looking to the sky...and it thundered. "A storm is approaching. We should head back before we get caught in it." Takeria commented, yet Rilena shook her head. "It's not a major storm that we're used to. With the Blarg no longer attacking, the storms haven't been bad recently." Rilena looked to the sky as it began to light drizzle.
She put the bag of computer chips in her main bag, it was waterproof. "I don't detect any strong wind, most we'll get is this light drizzle." Rilena held a hand out, letting the water hit her palm. "If ya say so." Takeria conceded with a nod...when a loud, guttural growl made her and Rilena freeze. "Rilena...is that what I think it is?" She asked and Rilena looked over her shoulder, seeing a large, odd, black panther-like creature with spikes protruding from its back and the body like an exoskeleton...she cursed.
"Shit. A pantheon, big one so an alpha, definitely male judging by the spikes." Rilena explained, eyes wide. "We can't outrun that." Takeria hissed, getting the cryo-glove ready, bomb in hand. "See that tree before us, the one with the tower attached to it?" Takeria nodded slowly, so Rilena continued. "Thunder crystals are attached to it, the pantheon won't be able to climb without getting shocked. When I say now, throw the cryo bomb at the pantheon and book it to the tree. A cryo bomb won't hold an alpha long."
Takeria nodded, pressing a button and spun quickly. "EAT THIS BEAST!" She shouted, throwing the bomb at the pantheon. It's glowing green eyes locked on them and it lunged at them but the bomb exploded as it hit the pantheon's exoskeleton and Takeria, with Rilena, took off toward the tree. As they didn't strike the crystals, they didn't get zapped and they were in the observation tower. "What happens when this thing strikes the tree? Won't this place go up in flames? Thunder and wood equals fire!" Takeria said in concern, seeing the ice already breaking on the pantheon.
"I noticed it when we got here." Rilena stated, eyes on the pantheon. "The underside of this platform has a rubber-like substance underneath it." She explained and Takeria's jaw dropped. She forgot how observant and quick her Commander was. The pantheon ran toward the tree and gave a yowl as the crystals shocked it when it rammed into the tree. It growled and looked up, slamming into the tree again and yowling in pain once more. Rilena bit her lip as the tower/tree shook.
Takeria took aim with her rifle and let a shot off...only it bounced off the exoskeleton. "Uh...that didn't work." Takeria muttered with a frown, when Rilena glared at her. "Don't shoot the pantheon. It's an alpha, there are few of those left and they are important to the ecosystem of the planet." Takeria frowned at her, feeling conflicted. On one hand, she knew Rilena was right and she didn't want to hurt the pantheon either...but on the other hand, how where they supposed to leave with it trying to kill them?!
"HEY! BIG GUY!" A voice shouted and the next thing the two noticed was a swarm of odd, insect-like robots attacking the alpha pantheon and Rilena raised a brow, confused. "Nanosects?" She commented, wondering why these insects were on Aurora. They never had anything like these on Aurora...plus, they were robotic insects! Jumping over a ruined building was the familiar Lombax, Ratchet! "Ratchet!" Rilena was surprised, and elated, to see Ratchet as he turned to smile at them before swinging his weapon at the alpha pantheon as it roared. It swiped at the insects and destroyed them, before turning to Ratchet. The spikes protruding from the back began to glow green and vibrate.
"Ratchet, be careful! That thing can fire the spikes from their back and impale you!" Rilena warned, eyes wide as she switched the ammo in her Goddess Blaster to a weaker set. 'Blaster ammo is going to have to do!' She thought with gritted teeth. She stood, pointed her gun at the alpha pantheon and let off several bullets, making it turn toward her and growl, the spikes glowing and vibrating once more. "Get lost!" She shouted, shooting off several more. One tore through a spike and it growled, before running off as it decided the meal wasn't worth it.
Sighing and slumping in relief, Rilena and Takeria slowly made their way down the tree, Ratchet reaching up and helping each one down. "You two okay?" He asked them in concern, eyes looking them over for wounds. "Yeah, it didn't get too close." Takeria commented and Ratchet sighed in relief, before looking around. "What is this place?" He asked the two, curious. "What's left of the only settlement that was made on Aurora." Rilena explained, before tilting her head. "How did you know we were here?" Rilena asked and Ratchet smiled, even as Clank looked over his shoulder.
"When we landed, we headed to the Rebel base and Conner told us where you two were." The little war-bot explained. "I gotta thank Conner when we get back." Rilena muttered thoughtfully, ignoring the rain soaking her, Takeria and Ratchet. "Why were you two up here anyways?" Ratchet asked curiously, making Takeria and Rilena tell him what they recently learned. As it turned out, Takeria and Rilena were part of a race called Leopardis and they learned the Leopardis once lived on Aurora, if the faded symbols on the walls were anything to go by.
Clark had kept mentioning Leopardis to Rilena and Takeria and eventually they investigated. "I see, so that's why you all are on the surface." Ratchet commented as he hummed, crossing his arms. "We also found out more," Rilena began with a small smile, "but we'll explain that later." She said before looking at the computer chips she held. "In the meantime, we should head back and see what's on these chips." The Commander of the Rebels said and Takeria nodded. "Good idea sugah. You comin' Ratchet?" The black Leopardis asked Ratchet who nodded. "Sure, I also got something to tell you Rilena." He said and she smiled, all of them heading back.
