Above the sandy yellow brown planet, a lone ship flew out into the void of space leaving behind the desert plains, plateaus and the hidden secret tropical islands within the oceans behind. Two green eyes on a golden yellow furred face watched as Veldin receded into the distance. "Whoa, this is great! So that's where I've been stuck this whole time..." Ratchet said and his voice dropped in volume, whispering just to himself. "Really looks a lot different from your own ship" Veldin had been his home for almost five years. His parents were there, and Aunt Milly and Uncle Cog, and some of the other lombaxes at the embassy. Just about everyone he knew in the Solana Galaxy were on that one small ball of sand, dirt, rocks and ocean. It was, a little scary taking his first trip out into space alone. Not to mention what Ma would do to him once she caught him.
"Please return your appendages to the steering mechanism, sir." The robot said. Sitting next to the lombax was Ratchet's only companion on this unexpected trip. The lombax glanced back to the small tin can that he had rescued back on Kyzil Plateau raising his hand and though the lombax didn't have any practice telling the difference between robotic expressions, he guessed that the robot had something close to worry..
"Oh right" The young lombax said and let out a strained laugh. His shoulders hunched over and he had a smile with an angle off enough to make the robot cover one optic partially in confusion due to the robot's current inexperience with organic lifeforms. "Heh. Sorry. First time doing this alone." Ratchet kept his hands on the steering bar but still turned his head to look at the robot. "Oh, and by the way, you can stop calling me sir. The name's Ratchet. Ratchet Nova" Ratchet said.
The robot merely said "Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir."
Ratchet couldn't prove it but he felt like the robot was just messing with him, especially with that strangely organic emphasis on that last word. "So what are you called anyway? You got a name?" The lombax wouldn't let this get to him, after all he was flying in his very own ship, that he built almost entirely out of scrap parts.
"My serial number is B54296-" The robot began but then the ship lurched to the left and Ratchet pulled up to stabilize their path.
"Woops" Ratchet said perhaps syncing the quantum gyroscope to the ion thrusters wasn't a good idea. A comforting sound of metals bouncing against each other reached his ears, Ratchet turned and saw that the robot had bumped into the door of the ship. Swung into there by the momentum transfer within the cockpit. That gave the lombax an idea and somehow once he said it, he knew that would be the best thing to call this robot. "How about I call you Clank for now?"
The robot had his head tilted, blinking several times with his red antenna softly pulsing with light. Eh Ratchet thought when did I think this robot's a guy? I mean sure his voice sounds like a guy but who knows how robots figure these things out. The robot's voice brought Ratchet out of his musings. "The name Clank seems agreeable."
Just then an orb of deep clear blue dotted with green landmasses like that mossy plant he cataloged once for a homework assignment came up to the front window. "There it is!" Ratchet floored the accelerator just in case they were still being chased. "Hang on" he said, preparing for a landing.
Novalis, a pristine planet that while technologically advanced had maintained the natural world quite well. In a certain crater there lay below green verdant fields, buildings topped with curved domes, a clear blue river making its way through a city and unblemished mountains in distance. There was the little issue of a lack of forests but in urban developments that usually was expected. Of course all this was marred by the rather large amount of explosions that were being dropped down above the city and the invading forces blasting everything to bits on the ground. Not that Ratchet could tell any of this, what with his ship lurching and its current flight path taking place right into that cliff!
Grabbing Clank from the nearby seat, Ratchet quickly popped the window open and jumped out with a scream. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw his ship crashing into the cliff face sending out a shock wave of heat and flame. Damn I'll never win that bet with Uncle Petrov now. It was a petty thought to think when you're likely falling to your death. But hey when you're in a deadly situation the mind doesn't tend to be all that logical. The air whistling past his ears as he was tossed around by the shockwaves. The blue sky above him was the last thing he saw before a sudden pain to his back caused him to black out.
It felt warm, and it was soft beneath him, there seemed to be a very nice smell. What was it? It was dark but there wasn't as much fear as Ratchet expected. What he was feeling was strange, he couldn't remember what he was doing before he found himself in this blackness. It wasn't easy to move but it felt comfortable here and it felt right not to move. Then there was that smell, faint like it was coming through a clogged nose but appetizing, a hint of something creamy and a faint edge of some sort of meat as well. Was he home and it was time for dinner or something? It felt hard to move though and there was some sort of ache in his body now that he was trying to get some sort of control over his body. Then there was a grip on his hand. Tight, but the pressure coming gently like a child clinging to someone beloved. And someone was calling his name, the lombax thought. Who was it?
"Ratchet, ratchet, are you alright, please wake up." Ratchet stirred, his head tossing side to side. The darkness fading into piercing light, revealing the world coming back into focus. Bits and pieces began to gather back into his emptied out head. It came back to him, finding a robot, going to find Captain Qwark to save the solar system, leaving home in his own ship, and then crashing it into a cliff. It was then that a single thought pierced through the lombax's mental haze.
"Uhm... Clank... Clank, where are you?" Ratchet said, his surroundings gaining color next but definition still hadn't returned. Another voice cut through the slight twisting of his gut.
"I'm right here, Ratchet." Clank's green optics came into the lombax's vision as the blue sky above the robot is marred by another fighter jet dropping its payload of missiles. There was yet another explosion in the distance but that didn't really register to the lombax focusing on the robot's words. "Are you alright, you fell unconscious when you landed." The robot's head tilted and the orb above his head began changing the intensity of its glow. "The impact may have damaged your structural integrity, will you be able to walk?"
"Yeah," Ratchet said slowly pulling his body off the ground. Sure he still ached in some places but nano-tech worked wonders. It was the fact that he was running low now that worried him. Ratchet would need to look for a supply crate, usually left around for people in an emergency on just about every planet. There was something else more important that had his attention though. The lombax looked up at the smoldering wreck above him, tinged with the bitter scent of loss and engine oil. "Well, we're not leaving the way we came in."
"Perhaps we could procure a ship from one of the inhabitants." Clank said.
Ratchet looked over all the destruction occurring in the city spread out below, fires burning furiously among the rubble of buildings blown apart. There were several soldiers belonging possibly to what amounted to the army around here. On the other side however were several robots and Blarg soldiers and sadly it looked like the Novalians were getting creamed. "Yeah if there are any left " Ratchet said, wincing at the sight of a soldier, a blue skinned man looking several decades his senior get mowed down by Blarg fire and disintegrating into sparkles of dust. Unease rolled around in his stomach and his found himself pulling out his wrench and bomb glove without thinking. Realizing this, he put them away for now, better find some nano-tech first.
The lombax began to walk and heard the sound of metal footsteps getting farther away from him. Looking back, Ratchet saw a problem. Clank wasn't exactly built for moving quickly over long distances, short legs after all. The lombax's ears dropped down as he remembered all the times walking somewhere took much longer than normal when he was younger. While he still hadn't had his growth spurt yet, at least he could walk and run at a reasonable pace. But if they were going to make their way across a war torn battle field, Clank was going to be put into danger if the robot couldn't get out of the way fast enough. While the robot closed the distance between them, Ratchet had an idea.
Once Clank had come to his feet and opened his mouth, possibly to ask why the lombax had stopped moving, Ratchet grabbed the robot's outstretched hand. Did he always had to have his finger up when asking questions? Well the lombax pulled Clank up and swung the robot over his shoulder. Clank's back had a bolt latch, something the lombax had noticed during the looking over he did when he first found the unconscious robot back on Veldin. The back of his chest harness also had a bolt latch, perfect for holding a bag of the more bulky tools when he went out on house calls. As the weight of Clank settled against Ratchet's. the lombax somehow felt that all was right in the world. Sure his ship had blown up, he'd landed in the middle of what seemed to be an invasion, he only had a wrench and a bomb glove, and if he managed to survive all this, he'd be sure to be killed by Ma. But hey, somehow having Clank on his back made him feel better than ever, weird. Wrench in hand he made to go on a yellow elevator platform he spotted when something moving caught his eye. Holding his tool before him, ready to bring it down on the head of whoever it was but he stopped in his tracks.
Ratchet's ears drooped as he realized he had just pulled out his wrench against a Gadgetron Weapons Vendor. When Clank asked what was the matter, the lombax let out a short laugh that had no humor in it, not that the newly manufactured robot could tell. "Nothing, Might as well see if Gadgetron has anything useful while we're at it." The lombax approached the glowing blue cube that then opened up into a viewscreen and teleporter set. The green lizard aliens that always seemed to easily get careers at Gadgetron, too easily it was whispered, appeared on the screen. "Hey there fuzzball, we've got some great news for you. Here take a look at this."
"Congratulations Gadgetron Customer # 24602" On the screen suddenly appeared a paper cutout like cartoon of Ratchet cheerfully jumping with a goofy smile flashing on his face when up in the air. "Your account has just had its time sensitive membership upgrade activated." A selection of Gadgetron products popped up on the screen. "Now whenever Gadgetron comes out with its latest array of the finest weaponry, you will receive it free of charge!" Cartoon Ratchet was surrounded by bunches of weapons spinning around him. "So kick back and enjoy receiving the latest in enemy annihilation. Thank you for buying Gadgetron" The video said as the Gadgetron logo crashed down. Before the screen cut to black a sped up voice clip ran, stating that the upgrade was in regard for weapons only and regular ammunition costs apply.
Ratchet blinked as a weapon was teleported into his hands. A little flamethrower called the Pyrocitor was given to Ratchet with a congratulations from the vendor. The lombax looked in awe at the wide barrel, the tubing connected to the fuel tank. A bit bulky though and it required the lombax to hold it in both of his hands. He then hoisted it up high letting a small laugh, well he wasn't sure just what happened but hey free weapons!
Now that he had something of an arsenal, now he could actually do something. Ratchet instead of using the elevator platform jumped off of the cliff. The wind rushing through his fur, unheard was the question and then the sudden cry of shock from the robot behind Ratchet as the duo fell. But this time Ratchet was ready, and he landed on his feet crouching down and bouncing back up with no harm to himself. Except for the sudden spasms that came soon after. Great, he forgot that he needed some more nano-tech!
Ignoring Clank's complaining that the lombax was being too reckless by jumping, Ratchet scanned the area. Not good cause there were bird like yellow war bots that noticed him and they were coming their way. Behind them however, were some nano-tech crates! Well time to test out that new Pycocitor then. Ratchet pulled out the weapon from where he holstered it to his pants. Now that he thought about it, if he was going to get a whole bunch of weapons for free, how was he going to carry them all? He was probably going to wish later on that he had one of those Transdimensional-armories or Trans-Arms for short. Some people liked to call them "Manifestors." But it didn't matter at the moment.
With Pyrocitor in hand, Ratchet pulled the trigger and a beautifully hot plume of fire came streaming out of the barrel. It snaked its way through the hordes of mechanical yellow avian shaped robots. The sudden rise in temperature frying their circuits and popping junctions and connections. The parts of these war bots littered the area, quietly burning until leaving behind nothing but charred bits of metal. Once clear, the lombax could finally smash open those crates of nano-tech, the extremely small machines working to knit together fractured bones, torn tissues, and replenish any blood loss all while stimulating the brain into accepting a rather large supply of its own natural pain-killers.
That done, the lombax was able to keep moving, going into the city itself. Not that there was much to find. Destruction littered the streets, and there was no one around. The silence, made the lombax's fur tense which was an odd fact noted by Clank with his oddly strong tactile sensors. They both reached a bridge that spanned the river cutting the city into two. The lombax took one step and just then a series of explosions sent him tumbling back, much to the protest of Clank who had his face thrown to the ground.
Ratchet on the other hand saw there Blarg soldiers, touching down from jet packs. A jet plane soared above, the likely reason for why parts of the bridge were now in the river. A blue glove was placed over the lombax's hand and a bomb appeared shortly after. While the soldiers shot pistol bolts at the lombax, Ratchet's head ached with the sight of the destruction around him and the lack of people, and that old soldier who shouldn't been out there on the battlefield, who shouldn't have died, all those impressions burned and one Blarg soldier had the unpleasant experience of having a bomb suddenly go off in his face.
Small blue orbs came spinning, blasting the soldiers off their feet and into the cold water below. Sadly for the Blarg, all that heavy equipment would drag them down into the depths where they could bother the duo no longer. Along the path they traveled, a lombax and his robot through a more natural area of the city. Less buildings, more greenery and rocks and a perfect view of the river and cliffs. Perhaps this was once a park or just a clearing for people to gather. However the end of the path had the land torn up and all the greenery scattered among the dirt. Then a giant ship landed within the clearing surrounded by an escort of blarg soldiers and bird-bots, both models that could shoot firearms and those that could only use their viciously sharp beak to fight. They all burned into slag and ash under a relentless swirl of flames.
Then the door to the ship opened and collapsing out on the ramp on his cane was a elderly Novalian gentleman, dressed in fine clothing that however was torn and tattered. When he spoke it was a voice ragged with gasps and pauses. Ratchet noted that the man, probably an official had been badly hurt from the retracted posture and the shuddering of intense pain. It just occurred to Ratchet that he let those blarg off too easy. The lombax shook his head at the thought though and listened to the man who introduced himself fearfully as the mayor. "Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! Who are you? Mercenaries? Torturers? Assassins? I'll tell you anything! Here, take my infobot, it's all I got left."
Ratchet looked back to Clank who started speaking, funny how the little robot could seem so alive compared to other robots. Especially with the concerned tone and almost understanding expression created by the parts on Clank's face. "Sir, we're not assass-"
"Hold on, let's see what he's got" The lombax cut in, turning back to the still cowering blue skinned alien. With how the official was acting it wasn't likely that he'll listen to Clank's denial that they would hurt him. An infobot peeked out from behind the Novalian, optics blinking before coming forward and showing the data on its screen. There was Captain Qwark, about to be eaten by a Blargian Snagglebeast! But soon the entire vid switched gears as it was revealed that this was merely a commerical that Captain Qwark was doing for a place in Metropolis called Al's Robo Shop. The info-bot done with the video came floating into Clank's internal compartment where coordinates for the plant Kerwan were uploaded.
Clank who had been puzzled by Ratchet's interruption felt his circuits surge at the info-bot's data. "Do you know what this means?" Clank said, not noticing the pitch of his voice modulator had risen several decibels. They had gotten information on their goal, they were one step closer to finding Captain Qwark and stopping the Blarg. But Clank soon found out that the lombax didn't feel the same way.
"Yeah, Captain Qwark has really sold out." Ratchet said while rolling his eyes. To the lombax it was kind of pathetic. His Uncle Alister, he was considered a real hero by a lot of the lombaxes. He'd never give in to selling stuff on a commercial like Qwark was doing. Though it might have had something to do with how Uncle Alister would more likely blast anybody stupid enough to try to ask. The General was now very careful with where he went, now that the Lombax Defense Ministry had wised up to his constant travel whenever they tried to draft him to fill a council vacancy.
"No, it means Captain Qwark is on Metropolis!" Clank said clenching his fist's at Ratchet's apparent apathy. Of course this did shift the lombax's attention from his own musings. "We could tell him about this invasion..." Clank attempted to draw the conversation back to their mission and Ratchet felt his fur bristle a bit on how just when he thought Clank might be slightly different from most other robots, he'd turn and go back to that near single-minded focus of the mechanical. The lombax didn't know why it annoyed him, after all Clank was still a robot but it just didn't feel right.
"Maybe if we had a ship we could..." Ratchet said. They were still stranded on this planet and so far there weren't any signs of any other ship they could take. Well the ship that was in front of them would been an option, if Ratchet hadn't recognized that is a shuttle that couldn't handle interplanetary travel.
However during the duo's conversation that ignored the third person there, the Novalian elder noted that the duo seemed to want to find Captain Qwark and tell him of this invasion. The chairman of Novalis shivered, not with fear but with rekindled hope. He had shouted at that madman Drek that Captain Qwark would stop this madness but he wasn't sure if he'd ever get the message to the galaxy's hero. He spoke up. "Huh? Uh... a ship?" Once the yellowed furred cat like creature and the small robot turned back to him, he was suddenly reminded of the numorous blows he had received from those cursed robotic commandos and shrunk back. "You mean... you're not gonna torture me?" At the quizzical look from Clank and some disbelief from Ratchet, the elder Novalian straightened up and pulled on the frock of his coat of office at least attempting to uphold respect for his office. "Well, as planetary chairman I could arrange for you to borrow our courier ship!"
"Cool!" Ratchet said as now they could get off this rock, nice as it was considering the explosions, abandoned buildings and general destruction surrounding the place. "You can count on us, sir" Clank said. Ratchet looked back to the robot, a new thought disturbing his brow. Huh, maybe he wasn't just messing with me calling me sir all the time. "Yeah, thank you, your chairman shippliness." Ratchet said as he noticed a bridge that would take them back to elevator platform near the cliff.
Clank was pulled back up hang from Ratchet's bolt latch when the Chairman spoke again. "Please tell Captain Qwark of what is happening here. We need his help, there's.. nothing else we can do." The head of Novalis' government trailed off, as he gazed back to the ruined city abandoned and in shambles.
"Do not worry Sir, I am sure Captain Qwark will assist you once he is informed of this." Clank said, assured that the hero would not stand for the blargs' illegal activities. "Yeah" Ratchet said, he on the other hand wasn't so sure about that "right..." The duo moved, leaving the chairman behind to try and gather and organize his people for what was to come. The walk towards where the courtier ship was parked was a short and silent one but then Ratchet noticed, there was another path. It went into the sewers, probably some sort of service pipe. He told Clank that they should check it out and the robot argued against it, for after all they had a lead on Captain Qwark and there was no time to waste. However Ratchet shot back that while they were here, they might as well take out any blarg troops or robots and slow down the damage that was being done. Clank couldn't find much of an argument for that, only giving what seemed like a half-hearted protest that Captain Qwark would put a definite stop to all the blargs' crimes. Still the robot gave in and the two went inside the large sewer pipe.
There were several pumps, acting as elevators to take the two further into what seemed to be one of the sewer facilities. Once they got in, Ratchet could see more of those bird-bots, tearing away at the place and lugging machinery out of there. A quick sweep of the Pyrocitor's flame sent all those enemy robots exploding into spare parts and free bolts to be collected. "Clank, why would the Blarg attack this planet just to take the machinery?" The lombax's sharp hearing heard the small beeping that came from Clank antenna and then Clank's voice followed. "It appears Novalis' sewer system is the best in the galaxy, apparently the blarg wish to avoid the pollution that engulfed their original planet."
Ratchet shook his head, sending the fringes of his pilot cap swinging. "Yeah, like that's going to help." The pathway eventually took them into a giant windowed room. There were planters where large trees towered, and outside was a view of the entire city below. In the distance were gathered groups of Novalians outside the city, several children crying, men looking lost, and women searching desperately for missing loved ones. And yet in the middle of the room was a single worker trying to do some maintenance on a pipe. "Dadblast-it!" he said
Ratchet, ears down from all that he had seen just pointed to the man and said with a rather broken laugh. "Look, Plumber's Crack!"
The plumber turned around and began giving the lombax a look. "What did you just say?" The plumber's tone was not amused and even though there was nothing in the plumber's hands, Ratchet felt very uncomfortable and scratched at his neck. "Er I mean plumber's back..." Ratchet's voice broke off as the plumber continued to stare at him. The lombax noticed that Clank had jumped off his back to look at the situation he was now caught in. Just great.
"Alright wise guy" The plumber said looking straight at the lombax,. Clank noted from his sensors that there wasn't any elevated temperatures coming from the man and the tone according to Clank's analysis had no pressure at all. Interesting, though he hadn't picked up much on organic emotional reactions, something told the robot that the plumber wasn't going along with the distressed signals that Ratchet was sending. It was a tense few moments until the blue faced Novalian broke out into a laugh "Oh cheer up, I've been wanting to do this ever since I first heard that. Now what can I do for ya? Shouldn't you be getting on one of those escape transports?" The plumber said. The plumber pointed with his thumb one of those said shuttles, painted a dull green and loading some citizens back on. When the lombax asked what the plumber meant, the blue collar worker said. "Newsflash, giant robots attacking! The escape transports are taking all the rich folks off this goddarn planet!"
"So why aren't you on one?" Ratchet said, never mind that the plumber assumed he was rich. After all even though the lombax had a steady line of customers that came in wanting repairs for their ships or junk, he didn't make nearly enough to be called rich in any sense of the word.
"Social economic disparity again, you'd think they'd recognize that there's need for plumbing everywhere in the universe." The Plumber complained. Ratchet looked a bit more confused until Clank explained that it was a lack of bolts. At this the plumber spoke again "Working people have to wait for 'Captain Qwark' to save us!" The blue skinned plumber air quoted with a bit of exasperation and that was considered odd for Clank. For why would anyone regard their possible savior with such ill regard as Clank was detecting?
"Well, got anything worth some bolts?" Ratchet said, not really sure if this plumber had anything worth trading for. But still he could at least give the man a chance to try and get to safety.
"Well while I was off doing some pipe work on this desert planet, I met two weirdos stuck on there." The Plumber said. "So after fixing some dang busted up pipes, I helped them get out that rock. Some punk, Skidd I think he called himself got me some dang blasted invitation to some race and one of those doohickeys the kids are all up in arms about."
Ratchet's ears pricked up at what the plumber had in his hands. "A brand new Z-3000! You can't even buy those!" Folded up was an envelope that had an entry form for the hoverboard race in Blackwater city, something Ratchet tuned into whenever he was working in the shop. The lombax's eyes turned big and Clank was struck full in the face by the big pleading green pools of a teenager that wants something bad and just barely gave up on dignity to try and get it. Clank was rather skeptical about making a purchase as it seemed it was slowing down the search for Captain Qwark.
Yet somehow deep in his circuits, Clank couldn't bring himself to say no. "Alright, if you have the bolts, but we're going straight to Metropolis to look for Captain Qwark after this." The lombax nodded and turned to ask for how much when the plumber cut in with something else in his hands.
"And I've picked up this little doohickey as well. Might be helpful getting you into the places you need, don't cha think?" Clank's eyes widened as he realized what the plumber had in his hands was a Gadgetron Trespasser. It could be used to open up Invinco-locks, common security among Blarg territory. Having that device would make stopping the blarg a much more simpler and efficient task.
"Ratchet, you must purchase that Trespasser, it would be an invaluable tool for halting the blarg threat." Clank said. But Ratchet looked back at the gathered bunch of stuff in the Plumber's hands, he found himself turning back to his belt pouch. Would he have enough bolts for all this? Everything in the plumber's hands seemed very expensive. Even though the plumber needed cash now, who knew what sort of price tag the plumber was going to ask for.
"Let's see , while I need some bolts to get on the blasted transport, I'd need a little something to help keep me going once I get there. So how about it, 800 bolts good enough for you?" The plumber said. And Ratchet's jaw dropped along with his wrench. That was actually a bargain for several things you couldn't even buy on the market.
"Uh, yeah sure!" Ratchet said, handing over the bolts. The plumber tossed the duo their new stuff. Ratchet caught the new hoverboard and marveled over the detail and specifications, wondering how fast he could take it. Hoverbooting was awesome but sometimes the lombax wanted to do some tricks while free falling through the air. Clank on the other hand saved the Trespasser from crashing to the floor, it was stored into his chest compartment ready to be used when needed to break into a secured building or door.
"Well thanks, you two take care now. Good luck with find that Captain Qwark and stopping the blarg. Not that you really need it what with all the help you've been getting." The plumber said and with a wave, the Novalian ran over to an open sewer pipe and dove into it. "Geromino!" Echoed from the pipe as the plumber vanished from the duo's sight.
"Did he just slide down a sewer pipe?" Ratchet said, pointing to the exit the Novalian took. "That really happened right?" The lombax looked back to the robot who shrugged, not understanding what was so unusual about the route the plumber took. In any case the lombax replaced the robot back onto his back, the movement becoming slightly easier to Ratchet's surprise. He walked towards the door where they came in but then looked back to the pipe. "Hey Clank, are you waterproof?"
"Certainly, all of my components are certified proof against many environmental conditions and trauma." Clank said, not understanding why the lombax would ask such a question and continuing to delay. At least they started moving again so the robot went further in his explaination. "Water is merely the first item on that list but may I ask what's the relevANCEEEEEE!?" Clank from his posterior view of the suddenly had his internal balance gyroscope lose equilibrium as the illogical lombax followed the plumber and jumped into the large sewer pipe. The ceiling of both the pipe and at times the sewage facility flashed above him as the lombax belly slid all the way down. The lombax and the robot made it back to where the courtier ship was parked with Ratchet dripping slightly from the recycled water. The facility lived up to its reputation and the only smell the lombax had was of his own wet fur, slightly musky with hints of engine oil, sparks, and the spice of the desert air.
"Hey you alright back there?" Ratchet said over his shoulder. After a little shake, he was jogging in place out in the sunlight. Clank complained that the dive down the pipe was completely unnecessary though he was barely wet at all, his entire body held above the water line. "Well it got us down here faster right, let's go check out that courtier ship then." It was rather underwhelming, though Ratchet realized that he shouldn't have expected much in the first place. It was bulky, with mostly rectangles all over its design. It was large with six thrusters in the back but were of an older model more suited for long term cruising rather than speed. A dark and easily cleanable dark green paint job added to its identity as a utilitarian vehicle for transporting goods. But still it was the duo's ticket out of here.
Clank's scanners brought up a rather necessary detail. "It appears that this ship also requires the use of a Robotic Ignition System to start it."
"Well it's lucky you're here then." Ratchet said as he jumped into the pilot's seat. Going through all the necessary pre-flight procedures, the robot started the ship and the lombax took it into the air leaving behind blasted Novalis in a smoky contrail. Looking at their ship taking off from afar, the plumber said to no one in particular. "Take care boys, and give that Drek what's coming to him." The plumber turned away and towards what seemed to be a huge toilet bowl, installed just about a decade ago. It looked like things were finally starting to move and the plumber could leave Novalis behind. It was nice to visit the old place for a while but there were jobs to be done, pipes to unclog, and problems to deal with and all that. Still those would still be in for the time of their lives, he thought. Just one flush and the plumber was gone as well.