Chapter Eight

Femka's eyes cracked open revealing the blurry dark room. The sun still hadn't come up yet. She was only sleeping for a few hours. There was a warm feeling next to her body. She sleepily looked over to see Ratchet lying next to her with his back against her. Her face immediately woke up realizing she was spooning him and took her arm away from being wrapped around him. She rolled over with the tiniest bit of red blush slowly consuming her face. She tried to justify her actions by thinking that she just needed someone to hold. She did it with Alexander back home, so what was the difference now? Maybe sexual orientation. Her friend is of a different persuasion, so to speak; he only likes males. When he and Femka would lie together, they had no intensions of seeing each other as lovers, only really close friends. Femka wanted to treat this instance just as such but her thoughts led her to the dream she just had after awhile and she immediately reddened hiding her face in the pillow underneath her head. She refused to let this go as something normal. It was breaking her set of personal laws. When it came to love, Femka never found anyone physically attractive or able to grab her attention so well. She had one boyfriend but she never considered it serious. (Truthfully, she didn't like it after awhile.) The Lombax, however, shouldn't be exempt from her rules. Femka tried to fall back asleep and tried to think about something else other than that dream. She succeeded and faded out into a deep sleep that would last her until later in the day.

It was noon by the time Femka woke up. Her eyes were ridden with sleep dust when she opened them slowly. Her hands rubbed at her eyes and she sat up with a yawn. Ratchet had left the bed a short time ago to tend to the shop with Clank. She immediately reminded herself about what happened during the night and the shy feeling returned. Butterflies in her stomach, that's what she had. She only hoped it wouldn't make things too awkward. She'd try her best not to let it show. The task wasn't too difficult after the day passed on. Femka let her mind go to work with distractions like practicing her languages and maybe drawing a picture here and there. Simple things like that—even playing some video games. The only problem was that she didn't talk too much today. The next day was sort of the same. Actually, Ipsin stopped by to apologize for had happened. He felt so awful, she could see it all over his face. He wanted to make it up to her by taking her out again soon—and not so late in the night—but Femka declined. She told him about their plans to go to Pokitaru this weekend. The researcher just wished her a safe journey and a good time and then he was off as fast as he came. Femka felt bad that she had to turn him down but she really wanted to escape the city, just for a moment if anything. The rest of the time until the trip the astute, little translator continued her practicing. She was getting along pretty well with Kyzilian. Clank offered to help speak with her so she could practice with the translator device off. She only knew how to say so much, though. But she could read the letters now and make some of the sounds well enough. It excited her whenever she was told how good of a job she was doing.

Eventually it was the morning for them to leave. Femka had done some research on the holo-net using what Kyzilian she knew and typed in Pokitaru just to see what pictures would come up. Judging by the images it was unquestionably a beautiful place. She was well-animated that morning and it seemed like the events from days ago were no longer in her mind. She went on the hunt for a bathing suit that would accommodate for her lack of a tail the other day and it took her awhile but she found something she could work with. She joined Clank and Ratchet in the hanger as they were preparing for departure.

"Are you ready, Miss Femka?" Clank greeted her with the question when she walked in.

"You bet!" she replied fast and elated.

"Excellent. Have you everything that you will need for our trip?"

Femka looked at all the things she was carrying with her. Her face was molded into a scrupulous one until she nodded with a smile pretty sure that she had everything.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"And will you be alright flying through space?" Clank tilted his head curiously.

"Well…" Femka pondered about it before speaking again. "I'll manage. Besides, I've been looking forward to this all week, so I don't want my anxiety to get in the way."

"Then I am sure that you will be just fine," he smiled walking beside her to the ship. "Is everything in order?" he asked Ratchet. "I believe that it is imperative you check thoroughly this time."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the mechanic exhaled with an exasperated sigh.

"Ratchet…" Clank tapped his foot and stared with narrowed eyes.

"It's fine. I promise. I checked everything thoroughly and it's good to go," Ratchet stressed hopping into the vessel and peeking his head out seconds after. "Now, if you're ready…"

The two hurried up into the ship as their pilot initiated its computer. It was a different ship than the one Femka was brought in. This one was meant to go through warp drive and travel at fast speeds. Femka was a little nervous when it started to hover higher but she tried to stay focused on something else. She was a little used to flying but it was the thought of going through space that was getting her worked up. She took a seat behind the two and latched her seatbelt securely around her chest.

"How long will it take to get there?" she asked as the hanger opened slowly.

"It shouldn't be more than sixteen hours."

"That's all?" she thought in her mind.

She had no idea how far the galaxies were from each other but if it only took sixteen hours then they must not be far apart, right? Or was space travel really that insane? If that's the case, then Femka would be sure to hang on to her seat and pray she'd make it out alive.

Ratchet steered the ship swiftly out of the hanger to the garage and through some traffic that was above them. Femka couldn't keep her curiosity from forcing her to look out the window at the city below her that was getting smaller and smaller by the moment. She was glued to the glass now. She could see everything below her. Within seconds the planet was below them. The atmosphere was pierced through by Ratchet's ship and the woman still kept her eyes on it all. It didn't even feel like they were flying. She worked up her nerves for nothing and personally she was glad for that.

"He said in sixteen hours we'd be there," Femka thought. "I guess until then I can work on my grammar and vocabulary and…" The woman stopped pondering and just gazed mesmerized at the scenery around her. "Are those other planets? And that must be Igliak, then." She had a small smile of sheer amazement as her face never left the window.

It would be stuck like that for quite some time. Her face left its temporary position after about two hours of their journey. Her neck was starting to hurt and they still had fourteen hours left to go. She knew she wouldn't be able to take a nap sitting up—it was nearly impossible. So, she just closed her eyes instead and started to think about stuff. What kind of stuff? Just anything, really. Once again the dream from a few nights ago snuck into her thoughts. This is what happens when she's left to her own devices. Her face started to turn unpleasant and she opened her eyes to look in front of her. She was able to see what Clank was up to by lifting her body up with her neck stretched, since he sat sort of in front of her. The little robot was reading his book again. Femka wondered what it was about. If she could read it, it wouldn't matter, because her eyes were so bad. Glasses didn't make much of a difference. She relaxed in her seat and glanced over at the Lombax pilot. Obviously he had his eyes set on the vast plane of space in front of him. Her eyes preoccupied themselves for several minutes just staring at him until she realized what she was doing. Her head turned away quickly and she looked back out the window.

"How can one dream be so troublesome? I mean, really?" she sighed lightly through her nostrils, her chest rose and fell. "Maybe it's just a phase. I'll get over it."

Their trip was almost coming to a close. Clank let Femka know that they were approaching the Solana galaxy. She perked up in her seat to look out the window. She could see the spiral formation of stars coming closer in view. The colors were astonishing, beyond stunning. He said it would only be a matter of minutes now until they reached their destination—forty-five minutes, an hour tops. Her happiness was accompanied by a yawn. They were up early in the day, so she had been awake this whole time. Back on Igliak it was already time for her to go to bed. But for Jowai, the resort they would be staying at, it was almost noon. Femka could see other ships that would fly by quick. Some she didn't even see given the speed they were going at. However, there was a ship closing in on them. Directly from behind, it was a much bigger ship and it was tailing them fast.

"Ratchet, I think that ship is trying to hail us," Clank said flipping a switch.

The Lombax looked down at the computer screen as the vessel was practically overhead.

"Open up a channel."

"Affirmative."

Femka looked over confused wondering what was going on exactly as Clank opened a communication link between their ship and the one above them. A voice spoke over the system. It seemed distorted.

"Halt your ship, Lombax. You have something that we need."

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?"

"Don't make me ask again," the voice threatened.

"Looks like you just might have to," Ratchet said furtively gripping the controls of his ship looking back to Femka. "Hang on."

Clank closed the link between the two ships as Ratchet engaged the back thrusters sending them forward away from the vessel above them. He planned to out fly the thing. He had no idea what they wanted. Last time he checked nothing was in his possession that was valuable to some stranger with an ominous voice. Ratchet's small ship continued to pick up speed as their pursuer followed steadily behind them. Clank's eyes followed the radar closely.

"We are being targeted."

Just as Clank finished his sentence the small ship felt like it hit turbulence as it shook momentarily. Femka clung to her seat and closed her eyes tight at the feel of impact.

"Are they shooting at us?" her voice trembled.

"No, that wasn't a missile or shot of weaponry. I think they tethered us."

Ratchet turned on the display to the back of the ship as the image came onto the screen up front. He was right. There was a long metal chord hooked onto the back of the vessel attaching it to the large ship behind them.

"That's a cheap shot," Ratchet snapped under his breath.

He tried to engage the ship to full power but the tether began pulling them inward toward the massive flying object.

"Clank, see if you can operate the mini-turret and blast off that tether!"

"Right!"

The tiny robot ran to the back of the ship and stepped into a small chamber that let him lift up to a little glass dome that harbored the small guns. He grabbed the controls and began opening fire on the cord that continued to pull them closer and closer. The blasts from the small guns were weakening the metal on the cable and it snapped unraveling and revealing its wires. The sudden detachment thrust Ratchet's ship frontward causing Femka to jerk forward in her seat. Clank continued to unleash his firearms on the ship. It backed down flying off to the side and below them out of Clank's range.

"Ratchet, the ship has retreated."

The mechanic kept his speed steady and Clank watched the ship leave from view. Pokitaru was in sight already. They made it faster than anticipated thanks to their sudden encounter. Femka looked over to Ratchet questioning just what happened. Her heart was racing and gradually returning to normal after seeing Clank return casually from his position.

"That was strange. I wonder why they were attacking us," Clank pondered puzzled.

"Yeah, so do I. Let's just hope they decide to back off for awhile." The Lombax shook his head pressing another sequence of buttons on the dash in front of him. "We're ready to descend now."

Femka was too worked up to notice the shimmering planet below them at first but when they broke through several levels of clouds she bothered to stare out the window and take in the view. She could see vast amounts of water as they neared a set of islands. It all looked just as technical and futuristic like Meridian did. There were plenty of other ships flying about but not as many as there were in the city. This was supposed to be a place for rest and relaxation. Who wants to fly when they could be lounging on the beach anyway? The ship landed on a docking pad on one of the smaller islands about the archipelago. Femka unlatched her seatbelt when it was safe to move about the cabin. She stood with her body and face practically pressed against the window looking at all the scenery like a little kid in a candy shop. Everything outside looked so striking and lush. The islands were covered in beautiful green foliage and the water was as pretty as her oceans back on Earth. They sparkled brilliantly when the sun's rays hit upon them. The woman was so excited she could barely contain herself. Ratchet unbuckled himself and stretched his arms up with a yawn. Sitting in that seat for about sixteen hours would make anyone cramped, no matter how comfortable it was.

"I'm gonna go take a look at the back of the ship. I'd like to see how much damage that tether's latch did to it." There was the faintest sound of annoyance in his voice.

The short, yellow-furred mechanic hopped out of the ship and examined the back end while to others got their things ready. Femka brought her backpack and another bag to carry some more things with her. She threw them around her back and exited the vessel with another yawn. Clank flew down from the ship by means of a small helicopter propeller on his head that helped him glide safely to the ground. He was carrying a pack on his back that looked at least three times his size. Ratchet exhaled at the hole that was created in the back of the ship but shrugged with a shake of his head and mumbled at the inconvenience.

"If I ever see that ship again I'm unleashing galactic hell. I just got this thing tuned-up. Sheesh." His eyes rolled. "Alright, let's find a place to crash," he said noting that Femka looked like she was about to fall asleep while standing.

The trio walked with their things to a tram that would lead them across one island to the next. The local inhabitants greeted them when they entered the skyline and proceeded to grace their presence with flowers on their heads. Femka laughed tiredly at the bouquet on top of Ratchet's head to which he just sighed through his nose and stared rather dryly at the girl.

They ran into a small problem when they arrived at their hotel, however. It was a busy time of season for tourists and most of the rooms there were full or reserved. They did have a room available for the three, naturally, but there was only one bed. Femka was too tired to care and Clank didn't mind where he slept as long as it wasn't in the bathroom or the fridge. When they made it to the eighteenth floor the sleepy translator just flopped onto the bed letting her things fall on the ground at the bed's side. Ratchet had set his things down and investigated the room that they were given and peered out the window at the nice view they had of the resort.

"I don't know about you two but I don't wanna stay here all day," Ratchet said moving away from the window. "I think I'm gonna go take a walk around."

"I will join you." Clank set his things down with a thud.

"I'm gonna take a nap." Femka yawned still lying on the bed. "Could you come back and get me in a couple of hours? I don't want to sleep the whole day and mess up my schedule."

"We will return half past seventeen hundred hours," Clank stated as two headed out the door.

Femka said goodbye in her tired voice and before long she was out and sleeping. The windows were open in the room letting a nice breeze through. The smell of the ocean wafted about the bright room and seagulls were calling to one another nearby. The sounds were so relaxing.

Half past seventeen hours later Femka was already awake and getting changed. She still felt tired but she couldn't let herself sleep any longer, otherwise she'd be awake during the nights and asleep through the days of their vacation. It would be a waste of a good time. She was in the bathroom changing into her swimsuit when she heard the door open to the main part of their hotel room. It was only Ratchet returning to wake her up.

"I'm in here," she said from inside the bathroom.

"And I'll be waiting," he replied.

After a few more minutes she emerged from the room in her attire. It fit her body well. Femka looked pretty good in a bathing suit. The Lombax's eyes followed and inspected her body discreetly when she stepped out into the room. She was attractive.

"So, I take it swimming's the first thing you want to do?" he asked breaking his eyes from her body and staring at her face directly instead.

"Well," she began, putting on a flowing sundress she laid out on the bed earlier, "first I'd like to eat something, and then I want to swim." Her feet stepped into a pair of sandals. "Where's Clank?"

Ratchet chuckled looking at the floor and then back to Femka.

"He found a robot spa and insisted upon staying there for a little while."

"Sounds refreshing," she said unsure. "Alright, let's go already. I'm starving." Femka hurried toward the door.

Ratchet followed her out of the room with his tail swaying behind him. There were tons of places to choose from when it came to food. The only downside was that it was a bit on the expensive side. Other than that, it was pretty delicious. It gave the foreigner a change to try out some more alien food. Sure she encountered things she didn't like (or couldn't figure out if she liked it or not) but most of the time she was content with it. When she finished eating she was ready to swim. That was another thing she loved to do. Back home she would always swim. It was in her astrological make up to want to swim so much. She was a Pisces after all. When they arrived to a beach she was hesitant to go in the water. It looked just like the oceans back on Earth but god only knows what was swimming in them besides other alien tourists. Femka handed Ratchet her glasses and necklace and took off her shoes and dress setting them at the spot they picked and she ran to the water boldly taking a dive. To her surprise the water was rather warm. She surfaced tasting the salt on her lips and looked back at her friend to see if he was going to join her. It was hard for her to see much with her bad eyes but she could tell he was coming to the water. The mechanic took off the brown aviator hat he always wore and stripped down to the clothes he chose to wear for the water. He took a different route to go into the water, finding a small ledge on a pile of rocks and performed a cannonball by Femka. His fur and density made him less hydrodynamic than her, so as he swam he took his time to get to her. They spent a few hours playing around in the water and exploring the coast until it was almost evening.

They met up with Clank later and all headed back to the hotel room seemingly exhausted but satisfied with the turnout of the day. Femka took a shower when they got back to wash off the salt on her skin and hair. The Lombax would've done the same but he was already dry and without doubt they would probably swim again tomorrow, so there was no point. When the woman came out of the bathroom in her pajamas she saw Clank making preparations for his slumber and Ratchet on the bed playing some handheld video game. The little robot was sitting on the couch with a nice cluster of pillows and a blanket at his side. He even wore a small nightcap on his head that covered his antenna. Kind of comical that a machine lived just like an organic life form. Femka crawled onto the bed and rested her head on the pillow putting her body comfortably underneath the blanket. She was watching whatever Ratchet was playing until he shut it off and placed on a table near the bed. His ears motioned upward when he lain down noticing that Femka was looking at him. A small smile was on his face as his brows arched.

"Are you dreaming about me?" he teased.

"No," she exclaimed.

Femka's face was red and she pushed her hand on his face turning her body around the other way in embarrassment. Had he noticed all those other times she would just stare at him and daydream? Oh, god. She obviously was thinking about him—she didn't realize that she was staring like that, though. Femka only hoped that he was being a tease like he sometimes would be. She closed her eyes when the lights went out and lost herself in her thoughts. She let the butterflies in her stomach flutter about as she contemplated her emotions for the man next to her. Maybe she couldn't fathom liking someone so much—she never really had a crush before, but this was definitely a crush.

"I wonder if I should tell him about my dream?" her cheeks blushed. "It might make me feel better. I doubt he likes me like that anyway. I've only known him for barely a month. But I really think I like him…" Her eyes shut tighter. "If I tell him, I bet it'll make it easier for me to talk to him. He must think something's wrong with me, because I keep staring at him and hiding when he looks. Ugh. No! Wait." Her eyes opened. "I can't tell him. He'll get all smug about what I said a few weeks ago. I told him I didn't date or seek relationships like that. Why did I have to make this so difficult for myself?"

Femka's thoughts continued on the subject of awkward romance. Her mental conflict kept her up for awhile. Sometime during the night, though, she gave in to her feelings after she had a fantasy that slipped her defenses. It wasn't anything extraordinary, it was simple. She thought of how nice it was to be in his arms and how safe she felt when he held her. Femka made a resolution before falling asleep that at some point during their trip she would tell him everything on her mind, the consequences notwithstanding. She needed to get this off of her chest.

The next day wasn't a success for her when she tried. Whenever they were out Femka would manage to get him alone somewhere for a moment but could never gather the courage to talk to him about it and then it was too late. The girl wanted to tear her hair out every time she messed up her chance. Ratchet didn't notice the agony she was mentally afflicting herself with, because she didn't want him to see it. Try after try she would take a deep breath telling herself, "I'll tell him next time." But again the next time she tried she couldn't muster up the strength. Their vacation was coming to a close, too. They intended to stay at the Jowai resort for about a week but Ratchet also promised her they would see Veldin. Finally, on the last day of their vacation Femka was at the brink of going nuts from her bottled emotions.

"I'm going to tell him today. Today!" she said to herself in front of the mirror in the bathroom. She calmed down before speaking aloud again. "But it's not like I have a deadline—No!" her head shook. "The sooner you tell him, the better you'll feel."

Femka left the bathroom with a heavy sigh escaping her opened mouth. She knew Ratchet and Clank were out of the hotel a little while ago; they said they'd return momentarily. Femka left the room and decided to wait for them outside the back of the hotel building. She watched the people walk by and occasionally would remember the name of their species. This galaxy harbored different life forms that many of which she still didn't know. She was left to ponder what they were as she waited outside. The crowd of tourists dissipated and Femka could see a clearer view of the ocean in front of her. It was so relaxing she leaned against a tree just to watch it and close her eyes loosely.

"Pardon," a voice called to Femka. "Miss?"

The woman was almost startled having been broken from her meditation. She looked over at a gentleman standing by her, a species she wasn't familiar with.

"Yes?"

"I think you should come with me," he said.

"Excuse me?" her brows tensed.

She saw him take a gun out from a holster around his belt and point it unobtrusively at her lower stomach. She let out gasp looking down at the gun on her middle body and then back at the man. His eyes were yellow and his skin was a dark green. He had three fingers, thumb included, on each hand.

"Let's go quietly. We don't want to attract any attention."

He pointed in the direction that he wanted to woman to go toward and she reluctantly stepped forward. He held the gun close to her back, not letting passersby see the concealed weapon.

"What the hell is going on here?" Femka shouted in her mind. "First I almost get mugged by some guys, and then we randomly get attacked in space, and now this guy? What's wrong with this universe? What do these people want?"

As Femka walked she remembered something important she forgot to tell Ratchet. It was about the incident with Ipsin. She meant to tell Ratchet that she was certain those men knew what her necklace did. Now she was theorizing another speculation. Femka had a feeling this man knew something about her as well.

"I bet anything he's with that ship that attacked us," she surmised. "Maybe they're all in it together. Those two bandits, that ship and this guy."

She continued to think as she was directed quickly through town and then through a small area of foliage to a ship that was waiting for them. There it was. She recognized it. That was the ship that assaulted them before they came to the planet.

"What do you want with me?" she demanded as the stranger pointed his gun at her back to make her move forward.

"We'll explain it later. Get on the ship."

• • •

"We're back!" Ratchet announced opening the door to their room. There wasn't an answer, however. "Femka?" The Lombax peeked around the room. "Fem?" he said with his ears flicking up and down as he glanced in the bathroom. "Huh."

"Perhaps she is waiting outside for us?" Clank suggested.

Ratchet shrugged following his friend outside but to their consternation Femka wasn't around the outside of the hotel either. The mechanic reached for his communicator and decided to give her a call. A confused expression gathered around his face when a message came up on his comm-link.

"It says her number's been disabled."

"How odd." Clank tapped a finger on the metal exterior of his face. "Why would it be disabled?"

"I don't know but it worries me."

The mechanic pressed another button on his comm-link and proceeded to try and synchronize their navigation units together to track her location.

"Have you traced her whereabouts?"

"Yeah, but," Ratchet paused baffled and staring at his device, "it says she's leaving the planet."

"This cannot be good." Clank stared up at his friend concerned.

"Either my comm-link is broken or something is wrong here. We need find her."

Without a second pause the two ran to where they left the ship the previous days ago. Ratchet and his companion climbed aboard and prepared for lift off. They were in the air in seconds tracking down Femka's location. By now she was off the planet and leaving the galaxy according to Ratchet's nav-unit. As they advanced on her location, his scientific compass produced a message stating 'Target Lost'.

"What? Recalibrate!"

The Lombax fiddled with the machine but nothing happened. Her signal was gone.

"The ship's computer cannot locate Miss Femka's navigation unit either. It would appear that wherever she may be is likely to have a communication jammer in close proximity."

"Great…"

The duo let the ship travel deeper into space in the direction they thought Femka was heading.

"If only we knew what vessel she was aboard," Clank said solemnly.

"The computer didn't catch the serial number, did it?"

"I am re-checking the database to determine if there was a scan of the transport." Clank pressed at the buttons on the holographic computer display. "Aha. Femka's comm-link was able to acquire a connection with her vessel's computer. Importing data. The serial number is: 2700-92335-29ND."

"And ND ship?" Ratchet repeated quietly. "Those are cargo ships."

"If I may suggest."

"Shoot."

"The ship that attacked us a week ago was also an ND model ship."

"What, are you saying she's on the same ship?"

"It is possible. That ship was obviously looking for something, as they mentioned. Nothing is absolute, but I have a feeling that cargo ship wanted Miss Femka and hence they returned to get her from Jowai."

"You know, it's kind of strange. I bet they're after her necklace. But it bothers me. How did they know about it?"

"We may never be certain as to how word traveled but I believe it is imperative we locate that ship."

"Already on it," Ratchet said with his determined spirit as he pressed a button on the computer screen. "Computer, locate serial number 2700-92335-29ND."

'Ship located; downloading coordinates.'

The ship displayed the destination of the ship's journey. Clank looked at the information on the screen and hummed a small voice of inquisitiveness.

"I am not familiar with this location."

"It looks like it's heading to another galaxy pretty far from here. We'll have to hurry."

The ship increased its speed and in was off to track down the mysterious cargo ship. Hopefully, their assumptions were correct and Femka would be on that ship.

• • •

Meanwhile on the vessel Femka was taken to, her captor led her to a containment cell where she was forced to stay for the remainder of the ride. She was scared after being held hostage at gunpoint—again—and she sat in her cell on the floor with her legs folded against her chest.

"Why did I have to go outside? Why did I have to leave?" she cursed under her breath. "They took my comm-link… I'll never be found." Her head hid between her legs. Her arms and legs were cold. She was dressed for summer, not for outer space.

There were long quiet pauses on the ship. She was the only one in that chamber but she could hear other activities around her. Femka could hear footsteps approaching her chamber. She didn't bother to look out of her cell. She placed herself in the back by a corner. The footsteps stopped in front of her cell. The woman could feel a pair of eyes staring at her.

"Leave me alone," she said muffled in her skin.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me," the voice spoke.

Femka's head lifted immediately. She recognized that voice. It was Ipsin. He was standing right outside her magnetically guarded prison. Her eyes were wide and unyielding.

"Ipsin…?" The word fell off her lips quietly.

"Yes. It's me."

"How…?" Femka couldn't speak. A million thoughts were rushing through her mind. "You brought me here?"

"I did," he said calmly.

"What do you think you're doing?" The woman stood up. "Why did you bring me here?"

"For you."

"What?" her voice snapped as her eyes strained to see him.

The red alien paused. His white hair fell in front of his eyes as he stared at the floor looking back at the angry human being before him.

"At first, I was interested in your necklace. I wanted to know if it really was what I thought it was. There was no mistaking it after I saw it again. It's the Neroltrium stone. That what you're wearing around your neck is the same material I've been researching for years and years. But there's clearly more to the story."

"Yes, please enlighten me," she snapped again.

"Originally, I just wanted your necklace. I needed to have that stone in my possession. That night we went walking, I set up the whole thing. I asked some friends of mine to stage a mugging in hopes that they would scare you into giving them the necklace. But I hadn't anticipated your display of defense." He looked at her with his black eyes. "I know everything about Neroltrium. And it's not just because I've been researching it. That material comes from my galaxy. I know exactly how it got to Polaris and wherever else it landed. I know for a fact that Neroltrium has amazing powers but what I don't know is how you control it like that."

Femka only glared at him as he spoke. She didn't understand it either, but it proved everything about her suspicions earlier on.

"Thousands of years ago, my solar system was under siege by a horrid tyrant who called himself Sergua. He knew about Nerotrium's attributes and found a planet to mine its contents dry. His intentions were to build a machine, a weapon of mass destruction, and use it to make our solar system submit to him. He was able to force many people into capitulation by taming this mysterious material. Unfortunately for him, some rebels over threw him and destroyed his weapon. After that, whatever remnants of the Neroltrium was left, were scattered throughout the voids of space. It appeared that after a great time pieces ended up on Igliak—and it would seem your planet as well."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" her glare deepened as her arms raised in confusion.

"Because I want you to understand my plans for you."

"What plans?"

"I don't want to give it all away but I was inspired by your gift. I have no idea how it could've happened but it gave me such an idea." His eyes were wide with excitement.

"I'm so glad for you."

"Please, don't be upset with me so much, Femka. I—"

"—Upset?" She broke off his words. "You befriended me, allowed me to trust you even the smallest bit, staged an assault, and kidnapped me just so you could have some stupid piece of rock? I think upset is an audacious underestimation! What do you even need me for? Just take the stupid thing and let me go!"

"I can't. Haven't you been paying attention? You're the one that I need."

"For what already?"

Ipsin sighed out his mouth before he spoke once more.

"I want to resume what Sergua was trying to accomplish."

"You're totally mad. What's the point? What's the drive? You're just one guy and you want to rule a solar system for no reason?"

"There is a reason. I am a descendent of Sergua and I want to fulfill his vision."

Femka could see the look in his eyes changing from calm to psychotic the more he spoke. He was aware of the affects of Neroltrium. It was just like what happened to Sergua. His time around the element made him more mad. Femka couldn't understand it, though. She saw no means of motivation for his dream. She easily figured he was just born demented.

"I've spent years in Polaris just waiting for the moment that I could run off with the Neroltrium sample they had in the museum. The pirates who stole it a month ago weren't in my scheme, though. And when I heard that Ratchet was after it to bring it back, I had high hopes of its return. But then that brainless thing failed to return it to the museum. I thought it was finished until you came along. So, I will tell you the rest of my plans. I want to harvest the energy that you have and use it to power a very special device I've been secretly designing. And when I figure out how to link you to the machine, I'm going to eradicate a specific planet in my solar system and finish what my ancestor started. I may be one person but that doesn't matter when I've got the right tools to help me."

His long tail swung slowly behind him like a pendulum. Femka was furious. She was being considered an instrument instead of a living being. She would strangle him if her arms could make it through the magnetic grid that kept her inside. The feeling of fear and helplessness consumed her all at once with her deep revulsion for this man. She hated the look of his face. The soft smile he wore was fake and twisted. Her hands balled into fists; she could feel them getting hot as she squeezed them tight.

"I'm not gonna be used like that," she said with her voice small and shaken.

The researcher stared at her, still such a smile on his face, but his eyes focused on the necklace she wore as it began glowing—just like last time he witnessed. His face grew more serious when he noticed the sparks spouting from her hands. His footsteps moved away from the cell as he pressed a button on the wall that trigged an alarm. Femka ignored his action and pushed her palms onto a computer board on the wall causing it to short circuit. She had no idea which thing did what in that room but one of those gadgets would open the door eventually—or so she assumed. Her hands touched everything in the cell, destroying it and causing it to blow a fuse. The grid was disabled and the lights above her flickered and shutdown. Femka stepped out of her cell and walked to Ipsin. She wasn't afraid of her power anymore.

"Let me off this ship," she annunciated each word callously.

Ipsin continued to take several steps backward.

"And then what? Desert you on a planet? I could do that for you. I could just eject you into space and trace your coordinates and come get you later. I'm sure I could think of something to counteract your little electric-ability," he said.

"I know Ratchet and Clank will find me and I'll tell them all about your half-baked proposal of domination."

Femka turned around suddenly having heard more footsteps running into the containment room. Some aliens like the one who held her at gunpoint earlier were standing in the doorway armed with some weapons. Ipsin meanwhile brought out a gun and pointed it in her direction. She was trapped. Her head turned to the crazed loon behind her and then back to the blockade at the entrance.

"Clam yourself and we'll figure out an agreement together. We're adults. We can negotiate."

"I'm not negotiating anything with you."

"Don't make me shoot you."

"Go ahead! Do it!"

Femka yelled in her mind, "What am I saying? I'm gonna die if I don't do something quick!" But her face only showed her anger. It was now or never. The woman ran and lunged at one of the men in the doorway grabbing at his feet and causing him to fall with a bellow from the pain inflicted on him from Femka's electric hands. She stood up and ran out of the room as they opened fire on her down the hall.

"Don't kill her! Just stun her, you morons!" Ipsin shouted.

The ignorant girl had no idea where she was going on this ship but as she ran she would touch the walls and let her power consume the circuitry. It would overload sending sparks all over the area as lights would flicker and certain operations became unresponsive to the computer. She was trying to locate an escape pod but was unsuccessful so far. There were other men up ahead of her and she quickly turned down another hallway to avoid them. There was a door at the end and her legs took her there as fast as they would allow it.

"Please let there be an escape pod, please, please, please…," she muttered under her panting breath.

No escape pods were on the other side of that door. It was a lift to the next floor instead. She hurried inside and apprehensively pressed a button that she hoped would take her up. Her power didn't interfere with the device to her bewilderment. She looked at her hands in confusion wondering what she did to change the effect.

"I… I think I can finally control this," she huffed with a smile cracking around one corner of her mouth.

When the lift reached the next floor, Femka took her hands and disabled the system on the wall for it and continued to search for a way off of the vessel. When she used her power it was like a mental push on an object. She figured it out slowly but surely. What she wanted to break, all she needed to do was feel it psychologically and the surge rushed out of her body by her command. The inside of the ship was taking quite a lot of technical damage. The woman managed to sabotage some important circuitry along the way.

"There she is!" a voice yelled and opened fire.

Femka ran but her lungs were burning. She couldn't keep this up any longer. She needed to do something quick before they apprehended her. She took every twist and turn she could trying not to wind up at a dead end. There it was, in front of her, the control room. She could see the windows to the universe outside. There were two men in the room piloting the cargo ship and managing the system errors that continued popping up. Femka barged into the room still touching everything in sight. The two pilots looked over in shock as blue and purple electricity flew all over the room. Her body looked like it was supercharged as the streams of current covered her rising up akin to a Tesla coil. The two men got up from their seats and stepped away from her when she walked near. Femka placed her hands on the main controls frying the ship's computer. There was no telling what would happen next. It was out of control now and approaching a nearby planet. Femka hoped her irrational decision wouldn't kill her but what else was there? She breathed heavily holding her chest as the planet grew larger and larger. Her breath was cut short and she fell onto the floor as the pilots ran out of the room ready to abandon ship. Her eyes shut and tensed as the ship started to fall nose first through the planet's atmosphere. The gravity of the sphere had pulled them in and the turbulence continued to intensify. Ipsin had managed to make it to the second floor but struggled to keep his feet steady as the ship bounced and shook. He ran to one of his escape pods fearing his death and parted ways with his ship. He would watch it fall from his location above. If the ship didn't blow up completely he would return to it and salvage the remains. But he had little hope of Femka surviving the crash.

Femka pulled herself onto one of the chairs where the pilot sat and buckled in struggling to breathe right. Her asthma was making it difficult to catch a proper lungful of air. She watched as the ground was coming closer. Her eyes shut tightly and then…