Without hesitation, Ratchet jumped. He found it somewhat funny that the other soldiers aboard the dropship were scared to death about their first battle. Probably because this was a pretty ordinary routine for him.

"Suck it up," Ratchet told the soldiers.

The wind brushed against Ratchet's body. He could feel the mounting pressure of the wind against him. And yet, it was a good feeling. Was this fun? Ratchet didn't know, nor did he care at the moment. Missiles were hurling at him and Ratchet had to think fast. Left and right he sailed with relative ease, dodging each missile as if it were no big deal. At last, he and whatever was left of the troops touched ground.

"Ratchet, those are the same enemies we encountered on Planet Rivular," said Clank.

"Good. That means they'll be just as easy. Okay, troops, OPEN FIRE!"

Ratchet pulled out his new RevoGun and fired away. However, these enemies were smart enough to dodge his shots. That didn't usually happen. The fleeting Bioneers charged at Ratchet using Laser Spears. Luckily, Ratchet's military Terraplate armor could hold the shots. But Ratchet wasn't going to let that happen again. The RevoGun came with a feature that separated it from its counterparts, the N60 Storm and the Lancer. Each time it finished one full revolution its base power increased by two. However, the ammo wasn't as abundant as that found in previous assault rifles Ratchet had owned. He side flipped to the right continuously, dodging the Laser Spears' shots one by one. The other soldiers watched in awe, but then remembered their task at hand. Ratchet was nearly perfect in every way.

"Okay, troops, we're on the offense now. Now that these guys have been cleared out, we traverse the plateau until we hit town," said Ratchet.

Clank checked the map. The town was just over the cliffs up ahead. No other Bioneers were in sight. The open range was completely clear. That is, until they reached the cliffs. Bioneer dropships loomed over their heads and released their troops. To Ratchet's surprise, only three Bioneers emerged from the ships. However, three was enough to man the turrets stationed in the cliff area in case of emergency attacks on the towns. These turrets were deadlier than they could have imagined.

"Private Sputooley, deploy the Holoshields!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The Holoshields couldn't hold for very long, as their relatively shoddy quality was far from useful. But this was the only chance the soldiers had. Ratchet fired endlessly at the turrets. He alone had already destroyed one, but would he have enough ammo for the remaining troops ahead? After all, the RevoGun was probably his most useful weapon. But there was no time to worry about that question. He had to get over the cliffs and bring the troops to the town. Finally, the turrets were destroyed. There were no signs of reinforcements from the Bioneers. It was time they moved forward over the cliffs.

From the top, Ratchet ordered the elite snipers to maintain a steady position on the cliffs. They took out some of the ground troops surrounding the towns. When it was all clear, the troops readied their weaponry and prepared for a full assault on the Bioneers. Ratchet's squadron was met with five others from the Terrier, giving them a better chance.

"Okay, guys, this is it right here," said Ratchet. "The plan is this: their troops are spread out across the town. Our squadron has been designated to the town square where the troops are most abundant. The fundamental concept is simple: drive the Bioneer troops up north where we'll corner 'em with the air forces. All right, let's move out!"

Ratchet led his troops to the center of town where they were met with a horde of Bioneers. Ratchet pulled out his Detona-Bomb and took out a large portion of the Bioneers with only two pulls of his trigger. A small group scurried down an alleyway, but Ratchet wouldn't let them get away so easily. He shot once more, but this time the shot ricocheted off the walls of the alleyway until it caught up with the escaping Bioneers. The troops immediately pulled back.

"I think we've got 'em," said Ratchet. "But don't get cocky just yet. Now, onward!"

The troops were cleared out of town and pulling back towards the ravines. Using his Cable Cord, Ratchet got his troops over the ravines and drove the Bioneers back to the assigned point. Once they were there, several ships from the Thymal Air Force emerged from the ravines and the distant canyons, thus completely cornering the Bioneers.

"Nice work, men," said Ratchet. "But we're not done yet. The mechanics have set up some BetaTanks just beyond those canyons. The Bioneer Air Forces are planning an attack from the north. We're planning on intercepting them there. Most of you guys will return to base, but some of you will be manning the tanks based on your qualifications. I will be manning one of those tanks. If you are also manning the tanks, follow me. The rest of you enter the dropships and we'll see you back at base."

Ratchet thought he was a pretty good leader. Not the best, of course, but he wasn't bad. This sort of thing came to him naturally. When he was thrust upon the role of Sergeant to some Galactic Rangers in the Solana galaxy, he had to learn a thing or two about leadership. Now it comes pretty naturally to him based on that experience. Him and some of the troops headed for the BetaTanks just beyond the cliffs.

"Now THIS is pretty cool," said Ratchet. "Reminds me of the Landstalker."

As the Bioneers approached, Ratchet prepared the Missile Launchers and fired away. These ships were heavier and better armored than the Tyrrhanoids', and it was easy to tell. Most of the time Ratchet had to resort to the Mortars to make even a few ships go down. The Bioneers were smart. After the final air ship went down, Ratchet led the remaining troops back to the dropships where they would return to base. But little did they know that the Bioneers had one more move up their sleeves. As the dropships were leaving, the Bioneer Mothership, a massive host battleship for the Bioneers, fired a downpour of missiles upon the dropships. Some of the dropships didn't make it back. However, the initial operation was completed, which meant that the mission was a success.

"Mission accomplished, guys," said Ratchet to his troops.

Back at the Terrier, Ratchet was immediately summoned to the mission room for another task.

"Again? But we just got back," said Ratchet.

"Well, the Thymal military IS very well known for its efficiency," said Clank.

"Efficiency my--"

"ATTENTION ALL TROOPS! ATTENTION ALL TROOPS," blared the loudspeakers. "We would like to thank the troops for their success in Operation: Deputy on Planet Snidram. Without their valiant efforts, Cratek Plateau would have been nothing but a completely empty wasteland destroyed by the Bioneers. We would specifically like to thank Sergeant Ratchet for his tireless work and incredible use of tactics. Therefore, Sergeant Ratchet will be promoted to rank of Lieutenant. Ratchet, please report to the General's office for armor upgrading and rank initiation."

"Wow, I've been here for about a day and I've gone up in rank. Pretty sweet, huh, Clank?"

"Yes. I must say, you WERE pretty, ahem….sweet…..in the battlefield today. Let's head to the General's office for that new armor."

After receiving his brand new Dynabrand armor and his new rank of Lieutenant, Ratchet embarked for the mission room.

"Good work today, Lieutenant. I expect great things from you," said General Whittsley. "In fact, how about I tell you about your next mission while we're here. We're doing a little bit of, ah, volunteer recruiting in the city of Urbantria on Planet Eturga. Would you be interested in going to the city?"

"Ehhh….I'll think about it," said Ratchet.

Upon returning to his quarters, Ratchet's communicator went off. It was Al.

"Al! Hey, have you figured out how to get me off this ship?"

"Not just yet, Ratchet. However, I have traced the source of our power failure on the Phoenix. Coincidentally, the power cut came from the Thymal galaxy-where you are right now! Specifically from Planet Eturga in the city of Urbantria."

"Al, that's fantastic! The General wants me to go on a mission in Urbantria. I'll look up the ID # of whomever cut the power."

"Great! Okay, the number is #0104307. And Ratchet, something tells me this guy had his reasons. Be careful while you're there. Get back to me once you're on the Terrier again."

The connection broke off, and Ratchet prepared to meet his current object of hatred.