"Do you comply, soldier?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Good. Meet me in the Mission Room for De-Briefing at 2200 hours!"
With that, General Whittsley was gone. Ratchet was now a sergeant for the Thymal Military on the Terrier Starport, a massive battleship. And he needed to find a communicator as soon as possible. He needed to know Al's fate at all costs.
"Clank, can you look up our quarters on the map? General Whittsley mentioned a communicator in each bunk."
"Why, yes. Let's see….oh, my! This is indeed a massive ship. Ooh, they have a Robotic Unit Snack Bar!"
"Clank! Focus on our task."
"Ahem….yes. Ah, here we are. Unit 04589, floor 57. According to the General, all of the quarters can be reached via teleporter. All we have to do is insert the number of our desired location, and the teleporter will take us there."
Ratchet spotted the main teleporter in the center of the room. He inserted the proper information and was instantly teleported to his quarters. He arrived to find two other men in his room, one of them already using the communicator.
"C'mon, Stu, you've been using that thing for over an hour now," said one of the other men in his quarters.
"Just a sec. Yes, mom, I've been showering regularly. Yes, mom, I've been to battle. Yes, mom, I still have both legs."
"Hey, look, you must be the new guy."
The man walked over to greet Ratchet.
"I'm George. This is Stu over here by the communicator. I see you've got yourself a little robot buddy, huh?"
"Uhh…yeah. This is Clank."
"Good to meet you," said Clank. "Would you mind if we use the communicator when he is finished."
"Of course. Hey, George, finish up already, will ya'? The new guys need the communicator. And would it kill you to say hi?"
"Never mind, we'll use it later. We were going to check out the Astroprod Vendor anyway. We'll see ya' round."
Ratchet and Clank left their quarters to the main floor and approached the vendor. They could purchase weapons according to their rank. At the moment, the only weapon available was the RevoGun, a rapid firing gun that was similar to the Lancer and the N60 Storm, two of Ratchet's weapons he had used in the past. It was fairly inexpensive, so Ratchet bought it.
"This is nice. I'm looking forward to using it in battle. Say, whaddya say we try it out on the Test Floor, Clank?"
"Ratchet, the communicator?"
"Oh, right. Let's go see if that guy's done yet."
Ratchet and Clank returned to their bunk to find the communicator empty. Ratchet entered Al's Solana ID Number while his heart raced.
"Al? Come in, Al."
They got a reply.
"Ratchet? Is that you? Ratchet, where are you?"
"I'm on this big military ship called the Terrier Starport. Something must've happened with the Signallite and this ship must've intercepted the signal I sent. They've mistaken me for a sergeant and apparently I'm going to battle pretty soon. Where are you?"
"Fortunately I had enough power to land on Rivular. I got a ride with these Hoverboard Champions gearing up for a race in Metropolis on Kerwan. I figured I'd go back to my shop, lucky for me. Ratchet, we've got a problem here. The only way I can get you out of there is to hack into the military's database and honorably discharge you. Unfortunately it isn't so easy. Unauthorized access to the database from another galaxy instantly triggers a feedback loop that reverses the signal to the military's database itself and recognizes my programming."
"Uhmm….right. Clank, translation, please?"
"It means that if Al were to hack into the database from the Solana galaxy, he would be instantly recognized and probably arrested. It would be impossible."
"Well that IS a problem. So any other ideas, Al?"
"It's simple. For now, you're going to have to assume the role you've been placed in until I can figure out a way to get you out."
"Great. Hey, Al?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you're ok."
"Likewise, Ratchet. I'll contact you again soon."
Ratchet deactivated the communicator and checked his watch. He then headed to the Mission Room with Clank. General Whittsley was there with a map of Planet Snidram.
"Gentlemen, if you could take your seats, please," he began. "As you may know, we've been receiving numerous threats from the organization known as the Bioneers. These half robot, half organic creatures are a notorious terrorist group looking for an end to chemical testing to creatures like themselves. They are, quite simply, armed creatures genetically enhanced from their former primitive selves. 2600 hours ago, they invaded Cratek Plateau and took over the local townships. We have been working tirelessly to come up with a plan to stop their troops and drive them back to their Mothership. So, here we are. Sergeant Ratchet?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Your job is to lead the ground troops and drive the Bioneers out of the village. From there, our elite air force will corner the ground troops from all sides. While they have done that, you will take command of our BetaTank and destroy the low flying dropships. Finally, you and the rest of the team will clear out any remaining troops. Do I make myself CLEAR?"
"SIR, YES, SIR!"
"Good. Now move out!"