14 Days Remaining…

A portable radio lies in the desert gravel, set to a popular radio station, and cranked up to full volume. The host comments on the old tunes, his voice light and jovial.

"A real gem, that last one. This next hit comes deep from the IRIS archives, and it's sure to get your blood pumping. Just right for a morning jog!"

The host's voice fades out, and the song begins with rhythmic clapping. It blends with drums as the singer's voice hums along, and it gives a perfect tempo for Nova to jam along to. After all, she might as well have fun with this.

Nova and Clank are completely surrounded by Zurkons, fifty of them at least. Clank twirls a bolt in his hands as they both scan their surroundings. The desert sun beats down on Nova, reflecting off of the metal bodyguards. A deep breath in through the nose, then out through the mouth. Nova's eyes dart around the sentry bots, her fists clench in anticipation, and she hears Clank's arm move as he throws the bolt above their heads. The tiny trinket spins in the air, and as it lands, the Zurkons make their move.

Nova begins with a bomb, destroying the closest front Zurkons with the explosion and pushing the rest back. She never stops moving, learning that lesson from the previous days. A quick heel turn, and she shoots the ones behind her with a shock blaster as she moves away from the cluster.

"Mr. Zurkon hates stinky aliens!"

"Mr. Zurkon wishes to kill lady and robot!"

"You shot Mr. Zurkon! Mr. Zurkon will kill you!"

With some distance, she summons the combuster to pick off some of them. As her own bullets fly, Nova deftly shifts her body to avoid the Zurkons' attacks. Clank speaks, his voice clear as day. "Right flank, 4."

It's good to have eyes on the back of your head. Nova places a shield generator in front of her, turning to swipe at the sneakier bots with a shock ravager. Their lasers ping against the shield as the whip's voltage destroys its targets. After dealing with that clump of enemies, Nova hears the shield shatter.

"Stupid shield gone now, silly markazian."

Said markazian smirks, leaning back to accomodate for the pyrocitor, and sweeps the flames over the crowd. Having made sufficient space, Nova equips the buzz blades, launching the metal spirals and watching them ricochet off of each other. A mental note is taken that this method saves ammo, as well as gives a tactical advantage: it allows for Nova to cause damage after her attention is moved elsewhere. It takes out a good chunk of them, and Nova decides to finish off the rest with something tougher. Backing off to avoid the blast herself, Nova summons the Negotiator. The rockets are fired, and the rookie stumbles a bit at the recoil, but remains standing. She gives a hum of self pride at her progress. Good, didn't fall this time. Improvement.

There's a small group left, but not enough to justify wasting ammo on. An unseen visitor watches as a staff flashes into Nova's hands. Might as well add my own touch to my combat. The weapon is twirled with an expert's touch, and the farthest bots fall to the crystal's blast. There's a rhythm to her movements, like a dance with destruction that she plans to lead. Nova rushes forward, swiping the rest of the Zurkons with a melee attack.

As the last of the scrap hits the ground, the resulting sea of bolts flies into Nova's magnetized gloves. The clinking of bolts settles to a stop, and the woman huffs, scanning the area for signs of any stragglers. Clank pipes up at the footsteps behind her, and the audience turns off the radio.

"Hello there, Saros."

Nova twists around, bringing her face to face with her visitor. "Saros! What are you doing out here? Those were active Zurkons, what if they saw you?"

The man walks closer, a confident smirk on his face as he leans down to Nova. "I don't think I've got anything to worry about, After all, I'm in the presence of a budding hero, aren't I?"

"Exactly. I'm still learning all this, and If I slip, I don't want you to get shot. I've already got the press on my tail, and I can't afford distractions, or risk you getting hurt."

"I know this hero stuff means a lot to you, Nova, but you've got to loosen up a bit. If you don't let yourself rest, you'll only make things-"

A stray Zurkon flies into the air, and it's arm gun is primed to fire, charging as it locks on to Saros. "Yoo-hoo!"

Nova locks eyes with the Zurkon, and for a split second, it almost seems as if time is slower. Nova uses the newfound time to act, and mentally thanks Clank. I'm not losing anyone else, especially to a little Zurkon.

Saros shouts in surprise, but by the time he fully turns around, the Zurkon straggler is reduced to a cloud of smoke and fire. He looks back to Nova and sees her eyes narrowed in an unnatural focus. Were they green for a split second? She blinks, and there's a combuster in her left hand, smoke still billowing from the barrel. Swallowing his spit, his pulse regulates and he chokes out a response. "Wow. Nice shot, Starlight."

"Thanks, but that's my point. If I hadn't noticed that Zurkon or missed it, you'd be dead right now. That thing had a clear line of sight to your skull."

"Then let's take this conversation inside. No Zurkons in there, and I get to stay."

Nova huffs, blowing a loose curl out of her face. She can't fight that logic, and it would be nice to get a drink. "Well, alright. You can visit for a bit, but afterwards, Clank and I have to train. We don't-"

"Have much time, I know. An hour won't hurt, right?"

"Fine, one hour."

Clank dismounts, and Nova opens the door with her key. The cool air is certainly refreshing, and Nova shakes her hair out of its bun as she sets her gear on the workbench. Saros sits at the couch once more, patting the cushion next to him, and Nova seats herself there. She leans back, and Saros brings an arm around hers. She stiffens, but for once, it's temporary. Clank walks over to the two, giggling at the sight. "You two certainly look comfortable."

Nova blushes, looking away from both boys as her teeth grit in embarrassment. "Clank.."

Saros shares his own blush, and clears his throat. "Clank, could I have this hour with Nova alone?"

With a devious look, Clank pulls out his camera. "Very well, but only if I get a photo first."

Saros nods. "Alright, Clank. Ready, Nova?"

"I guess so. Go ahead, Clank."

The woman is pulled in close, and Clank snaps two identical pictures. The black paper is handed to Saros, and he carefully pockets it.

"Thank you, I am sure they turned out well. Enjoy your date, and do try not to have too much fun."

A nervous chuckle from Saros, and a hum of puzzlement from Nova, immediately replaced by a hardened blush as the comment catches up to her. There's no way he'd take things that far, right? That would be moving way too quickly, and we're not dating. Clank leaves the room with a book in hand, and the two markazians hear the door shut. "So, uh, how's school going, Saros?"

"It's been going well. My history professor has been on a kick of researching old heroes lately, more specifically, Ratchet and Clank."

Nova swallows, trying to dig deep for a well of confidence. Saros is a friend after all, and they're not talking about anything too incriminating or important anyway. It's not like he's asking about the Zoni or the Clock. "Has he? Do tell."

"My professor said that Clank disappeared after Ratchet's funeral, and the universe assumed he was dead. A lot of people thought he was either captured, or deactivated himself. You know, to.. follow his friends. I guess those morbid conspiracy theorists were wrong."

"Yeah, thank the stars they were wrong. I owe so much to Clank. He saved my life."

"Saved your life?"

"When my ship crashed on Terachnos, Clank pulled me out. He helped me start the bakery, promised me he'd help me avenge my family, and now here we are."

The college student blinks in surprise. "So that crash was you? The reports said that thing was totaled, too much damage for anyone to survive!"

"Well, I'm a special case, let's leave it at that. Enough about me, though. What about you, Saros? Where'd you come from?"

"My parents are electricians and carpenters. Never worked on anything as fancy as what the terachnoids use, but we could certainly repair household stuff. I grew up helping them flip houses; rebuilding them and selling them. When I graduated high school, I went to Terachnos with a scholarship; the best universities in the galaxy are there. I always wanted to learn how to work computers, anyway. I went to a holo game shop on one of my off days, and you know the rest."

"I guess you're right about the terachnoids, that stuff is extremely complex. They talk about it at the shop, but I can never follow along. Building houses is pretty cool, though!"

"Not as cool as being a hero though."

"Ha,ha. The tools are fun, but I don't like the media attention already. It's nerve-wracking. I'm terrified of showing myself to the universe more, but I know I'll have to eventually."

Saros grins warmly, taking her hands into his own.Well, no time like the present to ask. "Nova, I have something to confess."

Nova leans up, not sure what to make of his words. An eyebrow is raised at the sudden shift in his tone. "Okay, what's up?"

"Nova, these last few weeks we've texted and talked have been great, but I need to ask you something."

"Ask me what?"

Saros takes her hands in his own, making eye contact with her in a surge of confidence. "I'd like to..I want you to..Will you go out with me?"

Nova's eyes flash open. Wow, that's... the boy seems completely vulnerable, opening himself to her completely, and Nova's not sure how to respond. It's moving too fast, and I can't pressure myself into something like this. "Saros, I..I want to say yes, I really do. I just.."

Nova gently moves her hands into her own lap. Saros deflates, and the color leaves his face. Nova stumbles as she rises to stand, shaking her head as her hands cross with the motion. "It's not a no, I promise!"

The suitor stands to follow her, and she runs her hand through her hair as she looks away for a moment. "I just..I have too much other stuff to focus on right now. I need to figure myself out first, before I can give myself to anyone else." Nova places her hands on his shoulders, and gives him her best smile. "When this is all over, I promise I'll give you a straight answer. Okay, Saros?"

Saros returns her smile, leaning down into an embrace.

"I understand. Thank you, Nova. I'll let you get back to work."

"Thanks for understanding. That means more than you know."

Saros moves to leave, but turns back with a smirk. "Oh, and for the record: you looked badass out there. I had no idea you could move that fast! I barely got a chance to even hear that Zurkon before you sniped it. Could have sworn your eyes glowed for a second too."

Nova blushes, and Saros leaves the garage with those final words. That familiar metallic noise fills the garage as Clank steps into the room, closing his book after having finished it.

"So, Nova, how did things go with Saros?"

She smiles, her mind doing her best to picture the Nova that he saw. A weapon in hand, taking down hordes of enemies. Badass, huh? Maybe this whole 'Ratchet' thing isn't so bad after all. "Well. Really well. By the way, thanks for the save earlier. I don't know what would have happened to Saros without that time bomb."

Clank's head tilts questioningly. Time bombs glow with quantum energy, and there was none on the field, save for what is within me. "What do you mean? I never used a time bomb, Nova."

"Really?" Nova brings a hand to her mouth, tapping it against her lips in curiosity. Clank wouldn't lie about that sort of thing. "That's so strange. I could have sworn that was you. Weird."