Ratchet smiled as he exited the ship with Clank beside him before Clank got on Ratchet's back, both of them looking around Aurora; the planet was still beautiful. "Looks more peaceful than I would've thought." Ratchet responded, looking around. "That it does," Clank began before pulling a scanner up before him and Ratchet. "But then again, we also saw no battle." He stated and Ratchet hummed, that was true. He heard a rustle and gave a small gasp, readying his Omniwrench but all he saw was a small robot; a surveillance drone. "A surveillance bot?" Ratchet responded as he knelt down to it. "That's new." He commented before he heard some static before a voice spoke.
"Ratchet! Clank! Hi, guys!" A voice said and Ratchet smiled; he knew that voice! "Rilena!" He and Clank exclaimed in happiness, both of them smiling. "Hey guys, how have you two been?" She questioned through the bot, before moving away, signalling them to follow the bot. "We've been good, decided to take a small break and revisit the planets." Ratchet responded as Clank hopped back on his back. "That's good to hear, glad you guys came back to visit and at a good time too!" Rilena's voice echoed as they started to go through the forest.
The bots lights turned on as they continued forward and Ratchet and Clank noticed a small building. The bot went toward the door and it opened as the two stepped inside; where they saw a small car that was on top of a rail. Ratchet rose a brow; was this what he and Clank rode in last time? The bot floated over to the car and transformed into a humanoid bot and sat down. "Hop in!" He heard Rilena's voice and he smiled, getting in the car with Clank and took the small robot off his back so he wouldn't get squished.
The vehicle lurched forward, once again giving Ratchet and Clank the feeling of a wall of air slamming into them before they got used to it and relaxed on the ride. They noticed they were in some type of tunnel, this must've been what led them underground last time. Ratchet looked around, seeing a multitude of yellow and white crystals along the walls; this must've been how they saw down here. Soon the car began to slow down and stopped in front of a small platform that had a door not too far and the three got out as the bot transformed back into a small surveillance bot. It began to open the door and Ratchet smiled as he heard the familiar gears turning, engine sounded, air being released and a small glow coming from the door as it opened.
He stepped inside with Clank and went down the stairs, yet the bot stayed at the top and the door closed and Ratchet soon reached the bottom before arms wrapped around him from behind. "Hi Ratchet! Hi Clank!" A female's voice said as Clank jumped down and Ratchet turned around, seeing Rilena there. She smiled at them, her tail swishing side to side calmly yet it showed she was happy to see them. "It's great to see you again Rilena." Ratchet responded and Rilena chuckled. "Likewise to the both of you." She said as she motioned for the upper floor.
"Let's grab a bite to eat and catch up." She suggested and the two nodded as they followed her to the cafeteria. As they sat down with their food, Ratchet looked around, noticing a few more people than last time. "I've noticed there are more people here than last time, everything okay?" He asked and Rilena nodded, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Yep," She responded after swallowing, "most of these people are from General Zigas's crew, they offered to come down and help us fight." She explained with a smile.
"They've even given us materials to build some robots and more surveillance motion sensors over the planet." She responded, looking around. "Due to the increase in numbers, we were able to expand the settlement a little bit more, so there's a few more rooms in the place for people to sleep in." Rilena explained as she looked around herself. "As a result of the increase though, it's allowed me to not be as stressed as once before." She said before she leaned forward. "But enough about me, how about you?" She asked, smiling brightly at him, making him flush.
"P-pardon?" He stuttered out, cursing his brain for not working. "What about you? What have you done recently? How have you been?" She asked, smirking at his flushed face. "Been well," Ratchet said, taking a bite of the sandwich and swallowing. "Me and Clank just drove off the Blarg on a nearby planet. As a result, when we neared Aurora, we thought we'd stop by and visit everyone." Ratchet explained and Rilena chuckled. "Glad to know you kept us in mind, you being here gives me some peace of mind." Rilena stated and Ratchet chuckled. "What about the conversations we've had the past few weeks? Haven't those been entertaining enough?" He questioned and Rilena pouted.
"It's not the same as you being here, you know." She commented and Ratchet chuckled again. Since they were last here and Rilena and Ratchet exchanged ship codes to talk, the two have constantly kept in contact. It was as endearing as it was annoying to others. As they finished eating, a small device around Rilena's wrist began to beep and she pressed a small button; a small hologram appeared from the device. "Rilena, progress report." A gruff, yet kind voice asked and Rilena sighed. "Clark is still damaged, we still have several wounded but they are quickly recovering. The Blarg have not attacked in the past several days and our supplies are slowly rising in numbers so progress is good." Rilena responded and they both heard a sigh from whoever was speaking through the hologram.
"That's good, we were worried that the damage was irreparable. We have some more parts for Clark to hopefully get him back in working order. We shall leave them at the Sun Crystal location." The voice said and after Rilena responded with an affirmative, the connection was cut. "What was that all about?" Ratchet asked as they both stood and left the cafeteria. "We've been getting some supplies from General Zigas from the Blarg ships, getting whatever he can to help us expand and to help repair Clark. We had an incident a few weeks ago." Rilena said, heading to the Command Center and sat down.
"Conner, bring up Clark's file and activate the camera in his repair room." Rilena said as she pressed a few buttons on the armrest of the chair she was in. "Yes ma'am." The canine said, pressing a few buttons and suddenly the screen switched from the galaxy to Clark's room, and Ratchet winced. The copper-bronze colored Robot looked to be in horrible shape! One arm was currently being repaired while the other looked almost brand new, seems it was recently fixed. A few wires around his neck and leg were ripped off or being replaced. One leg, his left, was completely charred going up his left side where it looked like the explosion happened.
"What happened to him?" Ratchet asked and before Rilena could speak, another person spoke. "The Blarg is what happened." A voice said and they looked to Rilena's right, seeing a lizard man leaning against the wall, slightly in the shadows. "Ah Razor, you've returned." Rilena said with a small, friendly smile and Ratchet tilted his head. Razor? "Yes, I have." The lizard, Razor, replied, taking a small glance at Ratchet. The lizardfolk pushed himself off the wall and walked over, coming into the light and Ratchet's ears flattened as he saw how tall Razor was. Razor was almost as tall as Clark, looking to be almost seven feet tall yet it seemed Rilena wasn't intimidated or fazed.
He was a black lizard with some green accents on his body; mainly lines going down his tail. He had spikes going down his back and tail that were black as well, each looking sharp. He had a scar going across his right eye yet his vision didn't seem to be hindered. Ratchet looked to the legs, seeing he was wearing black leather clothes and he had a hook on the back of each leg, yet one looked to have been broken; possibly from battle. He noticed an odd device on the left side and from the green bar on the device, Ratchet believed it must've been some type of weapon; plasma he guessed.
"How was the patrol? Everything good?" Rilena asked him as she reached forward, grabbing a small screen in front of her. Razor kept his gaze on Ratchet yet continued talking to Rilena. "It went well, nothing unusual and even the animals have started to calm down." He explained, seeming to size Ratchet up, making the Lombax tense as Clank looked between the two. "More crystals are being produced and the water has gotten just a bit brighter and cleaner, most likely the result of the battle no longer waging." He said and Rilena smiled.
"Good to hear!" She exclaimed happily, smiling at him once more. "You need anything else?" Razor asked, looking at Rilena again, eyes affectionate but she shook her head. "Nah, you can go ahead and get some rest. You've been working yourself too much lately, you need sleep." Rilena said and he nodded, heading toward the exit. "Understood Rilena, I'll see you in the morning." He said yet glared at Ratchet, before leaving the room and heading toward the elevator. "What's his problem?" Ratchet mumbled to himself, yet Rilena didn't comment.
She pulled up something on the screen in her hands and hummed, eyes furrowed in confusion. "He's only at sixty-seven percent?" She questioned, looking at Clark on the main screen, looking worried. "How much damage was done to him?" She asked before standing up and walking toward the console herself, standing beside Conner. "Bring up the supply box." She ordered and he did as told, a small screen appearing on the console in front of him.
Rilena looked it over before looking at Clark in concern. "He needs a sun crystal himself in order to stabilize but we don't know when the sun next passes. Clark has all that jotted down onto his memory." She hummed, rubbing her chin. "Is there any way to find out when aside from asking Clark?" Ratchet asked, yet Rilena shook her head. "Not that we know of." She said to Ratchet, before turning back to the screen and leaning over Conner's console. Both Conner and Ratchet stared at her ass before they both blushed and averted their eyes, damn them!
"Hmm…" Rilena stood back up, looking at the calendar on the big screen as she thought. "I wonder...Takeria, can you come here please!" Rilena called out, a woman jumped from the top floor, landed and headed over. "What is it, sugah?" The woman asked and Ratchet rose a brow, who the heck was this lady? She looked like Rilena in that she was a type of feline, however she had pitchblack fur and beautiful green eyes. Her hair went from a lighter black to a dark black color and was short, however, from her knees down were robotic legs and her left arm was robotic. How did that occur?
"Think you might be able to hack into Clark's memory bank and find out when the sun next passes?" Rilena asked as she pointed to the giant robot on one of the smaller screen. "If not, we need you and a few others to head into the still standing observation towers and keep an eye out, constantly changing, escorting when needed." She commented and Takeria hummed, rubbing her chin carefully. "I might be able to hack, doll; however I'll have to be careful. Ain't telling what kinda firewalls our dear bot-boy has." She had a heavy country accent. Takeria took notice of Ratchet and tilted her head, a friendly smile on her face.
"Sugah, why haven't ya mentioned this boy here before?" Takeria poked Ratchet's cheek, confusing him; she had no qualms about personal space it seemed. "That's Ratchet, you know, the guy that helped save Aurora last time?" Rilena questioned the feline, whose eyes sparkled in delight. "Oh! So this is that famous hero boy ya often spoke about." Takeria commented and Rilena flushed. "Takeria!" Rilena complained, making the woman grin at her. "Don't sweat it sugah." Takeria walked toward Rilena and wrapped her in a hug. "I ain't gonna say anything." She whispered to Rilena, who sighed in relief, before Takeria let her go.
"Alrighty. I'm gonna head into bot-boy's room, take a few soldier's with me for safety." Then the black furred feline was off to find some others who would escort her into Clark's room to see if she could hack into his memory. "What was that all about?" Ratchet asked Rilena, whose blush was slowly fading. "Don't mind Takeria," She said softly with a smile, "she's from a small backwater planet that General Zigas visited. Saved her from some Blarg when he realized an invasion was going on." Rilena began explaining.
"She had lost an arm but had a makeshift bandage tied on it to try and stop the bleeding. Lost her legs here on Aurora." She explained, going back to her chair and sitting down. "She was treated but, sadly, her planet became inhabitable after the battle. The Blarg had pumped chemicals and poisonous gases into the atmosphere of the planet." She pressed a few buttons, before the camera in Clark's room turned on again. Ratchet stood by the chair, watching as Takeria, Razor and several others walked into the room, Takeria had what seemed like a type of computer, while the others had guns. "Are the guns really necessary?" Ratchet asked Rilena, who sighed softly, eyes downcast.
"Sadly...yes." She looked up at him and her eyes were telling a story. The others in the control were also very somber...it seemed something had happened in the past that affected them all greatly. "What...what happened?" Ratchet asked and Conner tensed, spinning in his chair. His eyes were hard and seemed hurt as he stood up, ready to yell at Ratchet yet Rilena held a hand up and the canine stayed quiet, growling and plopping back down in his chair. Another rolled their chair over, laying a hand gently on his shoulder to calm him as Conner looked to the side, crossing his arms with a snarl.
Ratchet looked confused and somewhat hurt by the hostility, yet Rilena stood. "Follow me to my room." She said softly, motioning Ratchet and Clank to follow, in which they did. When in her room, she closed the door and went over to her bed with a sigh, sitting down and patting the spot beside her as she pulled a chair closer for Clank. Ratchet allowed Clank on the chair, before he sat beside Rilena, looking at her curiously. "Rilena?" He asked softly, noticing her somewhat depressed expression. She heaved another sigh, looking toward the ceiling in her room. "It happened a few years ago, before you and I met." She began softly, closing her eyes to remember the day.
"Clark had been heavily damaged back then as well, though not as badly at this time, however his systems still shut down to prevent internal memory damage." She took a shuddering breath. "I was only sixteen at the time, I had only been a Commander for two years and no one had told me that Clark had a berserk mode, not even he, himself. We had him hooked up in the room you saw him in, getting repairs done...but I was worried." She rubbed her arms, turning her gaze to the floor as she opened her eyes. "No one told me not to turn him on when heavily damaged. When Clark is this damaged, his berserk program activates, a last resort to keep him alive. He can't tell friend from foe when this mode activates."
She gripped her arms tightly. "I turned him on and, at first, he recognized me...but he warned me and told me to turn him back off. Before I could question why...his eyes turned red and he turned on me." Ratchet's eyes went wide, even as Rilena's eyes watered. "I was terrified, I tried to get away but I had no weapon to defend myself. Takeria ran in, did what she could to protect me but not before losing a leg...and not before I lost consciousness from blood loss." She explained and pulled the back of her shirt up, turning her back to Ratchet and he felt like he had been punched.
On her back was a deep, ragged, ugly looking scar that had a smaller one crossing over it with what seemed like several small cuts and burns. He raised a hand, gently touching the large scar and she stiffened, pulling away and pulling her shirt back down, even as Ratchet withdrew his hand as though he had been burned. He looked Rilena in the eye, green eyes full of concern and, dare she say, affection? She turned toward him, eyes wary and slightly pained. "The large scar on my back, as well as the right shoulder burns were caused by Clark." She leaned to the side, leaning her head on Ratchet's shoulder and he tensed at first.
He relaxed though, seeing she was relaxed and he wrapped an arm around her waist subconsciously, leaning his own head against her own. "No one blamed him, his battle programs had activated. Clark has a wide range of defensive programs to keep him safe but, after that incident, we did our best to never let him fight." She continued explaining. "Clark felt nothing but grief once we got him under control and at full power so he could regain control over his programs. Swore to do all he can make up for not protecting me like he promised." She shook her head slightly. "I was confused, told him he never made that promise to me when he looked me in the eye, and said; Maybe...but I made the promise to myself to protect you." She gave a small chuckle.
"I realized, at that time, Clark was trying to be like a father to me, since my old, adopted father was crappy." She shrugged and Ratchet gave a small chuckle, shaking his head slightly. "Explains why he gave me the stare-down when we first met." Rilena gave a small chuckle herself, even as Clank smiled, glad to see she was feeling a bit better. "But, we all did notice something that day he attacked me and Takeria." Ratchet raised a brow, seeing her contemplative look.
"He held back...did his best to not hurt me." That surprised him and Clank. "But his battle program should've overwritten all other logic." Clank stated; he knew about battle programs from being a defective warbot himself. Rilena tilted her head to look at him slightly and nodded. "Exactly, which is what shocked us. Clark isn't a warbot however, yet even we knew that most battle programs, when installed as a last resort of self defense, override all other programs and memory banks." She said, closing her eyes to think a bit more clearly about that day.
"If he hadn't held back, I wouldn't be alive, that much is obvious. Takeria lost a leg when he held back and I went unconscious and was down for a week." She explained, frowning a bit as she opened her eyes. "I remember Clark's body shaking, his movements stiff and halted, almost as if trying to stop his body from moving but failing to do so. I can stop him, we realized this because he was able to shut himself down when he saw me unconscious. So we know I have an effect on him, yet it's just better to not turn him on when he's so damaged." Rilena finished explaining, nuzzling his shoulder and Ratchet felt sympathy for Rilena.
Clark was important to everyone in the Rebels, especially to Rilena as he was pretty much being an adoptive father to her so she had a male figure to look up to. She had female figures to look up to, like Takeria and a few other women, yet it seemed Clark had been a constant in her life upon her joining the Rebels that took time to see her as an equal. Ratchet turned his head to nuzzle her hair, wrapping his other arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a proper hug.
"Thanks for letting me know. I feel like I understand you all better." He explained softly, unaware Rilena flushed, yet the snow leopard hugged him in return, even as Clank smiled. "If need be," He began, grabbing their attention, "I may be able to offer some assistance. It seems Clark is made from the same raritanium material as I am. It is possible he may have been made in a similar fashion, which would allow me to delve into his systems myself and help bring him to full power or, at least give me time to find out about the next sun cycle." He explained and Rilena seemed to brighten.
"I hadn't thought of that but, are you sure Clank?" She asked, turning her head toward him yet keeping her arms around Ratchet in a hug, even as Ratchet looked at Clank as well. "You sure buddy?" He asked and Clank nodded. "Of course. I do not mind helping. After all, you all are friends to me." He said with a smile and Rilena smiled. She removed one arm from around Ratchet, holding it to Clank. He seemed confused, yet grabbed her hand, only to grunt as she yanked him over into the hug as well.
Ratchet laughing made Clank ignore the fact he wasn't used to hugs. Must be a biological thing.