Takeria nodded to herself as she stepped back, seeing Clank and Clark were hooked up to one another. She wasn't sure how this would go, however they never had another robot that could hook up to Clark so this was as good as they were gonna get. "Alright sugah, this is as good as we're gonna get." She responded, typing on a tablet that Rilena handed her. "Ya sure about this sugah?" She asked Clank who nodded. "I am happy to assist." He said and she sighed, looking doubtful. "Alrighty, won't say I didn't warn ya." She typed a bit more.
"We lowered his firewalls as best as we could, howev'r be aware that some defense systems may still be active, kay?" He nodded and Takeria turned toward Rilena. "Ya sure about this cowgirl?" She wanted permission and confirmation from the Commander, in which Rilena nodded. "Clank stated that him and Clark seemed to have been built in similar ways. While Clark is mainly an information and gathering intel robot, he does have a weapons system similar in style to Clanks. He believes he can help and I believe in him." She responded, making Takeria and Clank smile.
"Alrighty sugarcube, as long as yer sure." She typed a few more codes, before walking toward Clank and plugging the tablet into Clank. "You can bring these codes up when you enter inside Clark's hard-drive, allowing you to override some areas to give you access to his memory banks, that's all we need." She said and he nodded, before she unplugged the tablet and moved back, before looking at Razor, Ratchet and the other three in the room, handing the tablet to them.
"Me and Rilena will be in the Command Center. If Clark wakes up, use whatever force is necessary but do not destroy either one." Takeria stated firmly as Rilena was over at Clark, looking at him sadly. "We'll get you fixed up soon big guy. Until then, just wait a little while longer, please." She said softly, before walking back to the others, stopping by Ratchet. "Take care." She said and he nodded, before she turned her attention to the others. "All of you, take care." She said softly, before leaving the room with Takeria.
Ratchet watched the door close, before looking at Clank. "Alright buddy, do it but be careful Clank." Ratchet said and Clank nodded, before closing his eyes and he saw blue, green and white light before he suddenly found him in a place he'd never seen before. Time to get to work.
**(With Takeria and Rilena)**
Rilena was sitting in her chair, staring at the holographic screen in front of her from the little arm that moved on her chair, yet not really reading anything on it. She rested her head against her right arm, eyes blank as she vaguely paid attention to what Takeria said as the black feline attempted to distract her. Rilena wasn't really worried about Clark, she knew that in the end he would turn out alright...she was worried about Ratchet and Clank. She had no idea what the defense systems within Clark were like, even he wasn't sure how effective they were but it had stopped Blarg from trying to hack into him to control him, so they believed they were effective enough.
She was mostly worried about Ratchet.
She hadn't given it much thought earlier but she had a feeling Razor disliked Ratchet, for what reason, she didn't know but she could tell he didn't like him. She wondered if it had anything to do with the crush Razor once had on her. As far as Rilena knew, Razor told her that he had grown out of his crush on her, merely seeing her as a friend and as their Commander...his mannerisms though suggested differently. Clark, before doing down, had scolded Razor for letting his emotions get the best of him when Razor ran off to save her a few weeks ago and left his unit to enemy fire.
Rilena herself had given him a firm tongue lashing.
She sighed, rubbing her temples as she tried not to worry herself. Ratchet was fully capable of handling himself and he had three others in the room to back him up should Razor try something. The Rebels didn't take kindly to an ally being attacked and Ratchet was considered a hero among them after saving them one time. Besides, a few of the Rebels knew that Rilena liked Ratchet, as more than a friend that is. She blushed again, remembering some of the conversations she had with Ratchet that turned from friendly conversations to full on flirt wars.
She had lost count of the times Clank groaned in annoyance at their little flirt wars.
"Thinking about the Lombax sugarcube?" Takeria's country accent pulled Rilena out of her thoughts, making the snow leopard look at her. "Pardon?" She asked softly, tilting her head slightly at the black feline, who smiled softly. "I know that look," She started with a grin, making Rilena flush a bit, "yer thinking about the Lombax, weren't ya?" Rilena groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Not right now Takeria...I'm a bit stressed." Takeria's smirk fell as she raised a brow.
"Razor?" Was all she needed to say and Rilena nodded, removing her hand from her eyes before turning her attention to Takeria. "He didn't seem pleased seeing Ratchet." She said and Takeria sighed. "There's no reasoning with the lizard folk, he dun listen as it is." The black feline commented, green eyes showing some annoyance; she had never gotten along with Razor. Rilena sighed, shaking her head before pressing a few buttons on the holographic screen before her and the video to Clark's room came up.
Ratchet was sitting beside Clank, fiddling with his gun and making sure it worked, Razor was on the other side, glaring at Ratchet while the other three either paced or checked on their own weapon. Rilena groaned, this was going to take forever.
**(With Clank, inside Clark's Memory Bank)**
Clank was a little disoriented with the way the place looked, he wondered if this was what the inside of computers looked like. Everything looked like it was made of data bits, random lines seemed to run along blue and green walls, while the white floor moved and waved as he walked. It was all very disconcerting but he was willing to go through with this for Rilena and the others. Besides, Clark reminded him of himself and Clank wished to help.
Maybe that was Ratchet rubbing off on him?
He continued further, before a wall materialized before him and he stopped, humming a little. What looked like a keyboard appeared before him and Clank began pressing buttons before the wall demanded a code. Clank frowned and pulled up a screen to see the codes that Takeria downloaded into his memory banks. He typed a code in, a guesswork and the wall dematerialized and he sighed. It seemed the walls each had a code so all he had to do was match the right code with the right wall when it formed.
It wasn't that hard to navigate through Clark's mind, he had everything labeled and pathways leading to where he wanted it to go. Either he was made this way or Clark reprogrammed his mind, or even the Rebels, so things were easier to find. He encountered a few firewalls but they were easy to get through with the codes Takeria gave him and, eventually, he found himself in a huge white room.
Screens and file cabinets lined the walls and the screens were constantly changing images. Some screens were staticy and voices so distorted that he couldn't understand what was being said. "Those must be his oldest memories from the time of his creation." Clank said to himself, before continuing further in the room. "Are you sure?" A familiar voice asked and Clank stopped, looking to his right and seeing a screen with what looked like a younger Rilena. He was intrigued and continued watching.
~~Memory~~
"It's your now to use as you see fit." Clark said to a fourteen year old Rilena, who looked at him in surprise. "B-but I'm only fourteen! You think I'm worthy enough of being a Commander?" She asked Clark with wide eyes, before Clark rubbed her head. Her eyes widened and she hung her head down, before hugging Clark who seemed surprised, before hugging her back gently. "You've more than earned it Rilena. You are more worthy than you know." He said gently and Rilena gave a small nod...then the screen went back.
~~Memory End~~
Clank gave a small smile, it seemed Clark treasured the memories he had of Rilena. Looking around the room, he saw multiple screens featuring him acting as a father to Rilena. He hummed a bit, checking the firewalls and codes, everything related to Rilena in one way or another, yet something told him this wasn't the Rebels doing but was Clark's doing. To Rilena, Clark had a huge impact on her life...yet the same was true for Clark, she had a huge impact on his life as well.
Another screen went by, one that featured him before Rilena met him and it showed him as a somewhat cold and reckless Commander, ordering those around without care if they got hurt. Then the screen changed to show how he changed once he met Rilena. He became more caring, saw others as more than mere allies to help protect the planet but as people he could count on, people who looked up to him and relied on him. Clark became more caring and compassionate when he met Rilena when she was merely ten years old.
Clank continued further in and came upon the middle of the room and he stopped, a podium with wires going into the ground and heading toward an endless ceiling were connected to a chip that rested on the podium. Lines traveling along the walls also headed toward this podium, almost climbing the weird white podium as if it were vines. This told Clank that this was the main program that housed everything in Clark. It looked small...but the amount of data this could hold told Clank it was much more than it seemed.
Clank brought up several codes that would allow him to access Clark's memory banks on the Sun Crystals and the next passing cycle. As the codes were accepted, several screens floated down and a calendar appeared before him, giving Clank the data he needed. "I see, so the sun will be passing within just a few days according to current time." Clank downloaded the needed data and was about the leave when a screen showed up before him. "Hm? What is this?" Clank wondered aloud, seeing it featured Rilena, then words appeared. "What are...Leopardis?" He wondered, seeming curious.
XXX
Takeria laid Rilena on the bed, their Commander had been awake since before five that morning and it was already closing in on eleven, she needed rest. She left the room, closing the door when Ratchet came over with Clank. "Got the information." He said as he waved bye to the others, Razor, however, scoffed and headed to his own room and Ratchet frowned...he really didn't like how Razor was treating him. Takeria smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Thank ya Ratchet and Clank, we needed that info." She said kindly, before Clank handed the tablet to her. "The next sun cycle hits within two days." He said which made Takeria smile brightly, tail swaying happily. "Oh my stars, that's perfect!" She clapped happily, grabbing the attention of several people, before she hugged Clank as Ratchet jumped back. "Thank you little bot boy!" She said happily, tail swaying side-to-side like a dog and Ratchet rubbed the back of his head.
"Um...where's Rilena?" He asked and Takeria straightened. "She passed out waiting." Ratchet's jaw dropped as panic entered his eyes. "Is she okay?!" He asked in panic. Takeria gave him a small smile. "Don't you worry yer little tail there Lombax, she's fine. She's been awake since about five this morning and hasn't slept yet. She needed to sleep." Ratchet looked concerned still and a wicked smirk crossed Takeria's lips. "Ya know," He tilted his head at her teasing tone, "if you wanna, you can get some sleep with her as well." Ratchet's face flushed as he began stuttering and his tail swayed wildly with his embarrassment.
"W-w-what are y-you t-talking about?!" He shouted embarrassed, before Takeria began laughing. "Calm down Lombax, I'm just teasn' ya." Ratchet was still blushing as he looked away and crossed his arms, grumbling. "I have a question Takeria." Clank said, grabbing the black feline's attention. "What is it bot-boy?" She asked, putting him down and kneeling down as well. "Do you know what a Leopardis is?" He asked curiously, having remembered what that screen showed him. Takeria raised a brow, looking very confused. "A Leo-what now?" She asked, having never heard the word. Clank seemed confused, before humming.
"It's just something that passed by me while getting the information from Clark's memory banks." He said and she hummed, rubbing her chin. "The word...it sounds familiar but I have NO IDEA what it is or what it means." She responded as she stood up, scratching her ears. Clank hummed and then shook his head, responding; "Then nevermind. I'm sure it's something from his past." But Clank wasn't so sure. When that screen appeared before him and showed the word Leopardis, it then brought up information on both Rilena and Takeria, their DNA, traits about Leopardis' and other stuff that told Clank what they really were.
He brushed it off though, Takeria didn't seem to know about the word, or the race, and Rilena always stated she was a snow leopard. Maybe they weren't part of what Leopardis' were. "You okay buddy?" Ratchet asked as Takeria overlooked the information. "Just a bit confused but I will be fine Ratchet." Clank said to him, why did Clark show him the information and give him all the data about Leopardis' to him? It was like Clark knew he was there and wanted to share that information with someone so the information was never lost.
Could it be that the Leopardis' were a race that was still around? He would need more information and, for that, they'd have to visit more often. He didn't mind the idea though and he knew Ratchet would like the idea as well. "Well," Takeria talking grabbed their attention, "I wanted the Commander to rest but I'm gonna have to wake 'er up in order to overlook these notes." She headed back into the room, leaving the door open and Ratchet with Clank walked inside as well, seeing Rilena sleeping on her bed.
Takeria walked over and sat down on the bed, shaking Rilena's shoulders a bit. "Rilena, Commander, wake up sugah." Takeria said gently and Rilena's eyes tightened as she seemed to whimper. "N-no...don't…" Takeria frowned and internally panicked, shaking Rilena harder. "Rilena, wake up." She stated firmly and Rilena jolted awake and shot up in the bed...only to smack her head against Takeria's own. "OW!" They both shouted and even Ratchet with Clank winced at the cracking sound they heard.
Rilena fell back against the bed, clutching her forehead, even as Takeria backed away from the bed, clutching her own. "Cowgirl, warn me when yer about ta do that! You got a head of steel!" The black feline shouted, groaning at the soreness of her head. "Don't shake me when I'm having a nightmare." Rilena bit back, grumbling under her breath. "I was just waking you up sweetie and not just because of the nightmare." Takeria sometimes wondered if they should just shoot Rilena at a ship with how hard her head was.
Rilena grumbled as she sat up again, slower this time before she noticed Ratchet and Clank as well, Ratchet was giving her a concerned look even as Clank tilted his head. "You're having nightmares?" Ratchet asked and Rilena sighed, getting off the bed. "It's been a constant thing since the Blarg killed my parents on Veldin." Rilena said softly, walking over to them and Takeria handed the tablet to her. "Next sun cycle is in two days, cowgirl." Takeria said to Rilena, who smiled upon seeing the information.
"Good, that means we can get Clark fixed faster." She said with a relieved sigh and Ratchet smiled as well. "That's good to hear, he sounds important to you." He said softly, yet Rilena smiled at him. "Not just me but everyone. Remember, Clark was the Commander before I was." She reminded him and Ratchet nodded. They headed back out to the Command Center and Rilena plugged the tablet into Conner's computer console, asking him to pull up the calendar.
He did as asked and they saw the calendar appear to the side, before the information Clank attained appeared to the left. "Alright, we're back in business for Clark." Rilena said softly before leaning over Conner to bring up the camera to Clark's room. "C-Commander!" Conner stated with a blush, making her raise a brow at him. "What is it? Are you okay?" She asked as she tilted her head, yet he blushed and looked away, shaking his head. She sighed and leaned back as the camera came online, she smiled and stood up before turning toward Ratchet and Clank.
"I know you two are busy, however do you want to stay to see Clark?" She asked knowing they had other business to attend to...like finding out why the Blarg were still attacking Aurora. From what Ratchet told her, Drek was gone and Qwark was in custody. "Nah, we still need to deal with this new Nefarious fellow." Ratchet explained, confusing Rilena as that name was a first for her but she passed it off. "Alrighty then, I'll let Clark know you said 'hi' though." She said softly, making Ratchet smile.
"Alright, thanks Rilena." He was grateful, he did like Clark and didn't like seeing him so busted up. He guessed he was fond due to his affection for Rilena, he cared about everyone close to her. Rilena's arms around him caught his attention and he felt a blush forming. "R-Rilena?" He questioned softly, wrapping his own arms around her. "Thanks for stopping by though," She pulled back, smiling at him, "it was good seeing you again." Ratchet smiled himself, before wrapping his arms around Rilena in return.
"You're welcome." He said softly, nuzzling the top of her head. Rilena giggled, nuzzling his chin before pulling back to smile down at Clank. "And thanks Clank, for diving into Clark's memory." She said as she knelt to him, giving him a smile. "It was no problem," Clank said with a smile, "I will help as much as possible." Rilena smiled before picking him up and giving him a hug and then handed him to Ratchet who got Clank on his back. "I'll stop by when I can." He promised Rilena, who gave a soft smile. "Alright, and once more, thanks." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, Ratchet's face turned red and he gave an affectionate smile before he and Clank decided to leave.
Rilena smiled as she watched the door close, before she felt a pair of arms around her shoulders as Takeria leaned against her back, giving her a type of loose hug. "You gonna miss 'em sugah?" She asked Rilena, who gave a chuckle. "Yeah...but you know why, don't you?" Rilena asked Takeria, turning her head toward the black feline, unaware those in the Command Center were listening in. "Yeah, I know why. But I wanna hear ya say it Commander." Takeria stated softly, yet firmly and Rilena gave another chuckle, looking at the door before she gave a sigh.
"I love him...I think I have for a while." She turned toward Takeria, realizing the others were looking at her in shock. "We spoke when we had the chance, teased one another and flirted. We've known each other for a little over six months now." Rilena's smile turned soft and affectionate. "But I'm going to wait a bit longer before I do anything. After all, I have the Rebels to work on and we still have to chase the Blarg off." She turned to go to her room. "There's too much I have to focus on before I can focus on love." She opened the door before stepping into her room. She needed to get some sleep for the upcoming days.