Chapter Twelve

"My friend is located at Hol Hayuk Prison. It's on a moon named Balva that orbits around the planet Kaith," the voice spoke via transmission through Ratchet's ship that pursued his/hers.

"A moon base?"

"Yeah. Obviously it's easier to keep prisoners confined to a small rock, since escaping would leave them with nowhere to go."

"How heavy's the security?"

"It's pretty tight, which is why I needed your help to begin with. I'll send you the schematic to the prison compound."

"Downloading information," Clank announced accepting the file.

The computer automatically opened a visual display of the prison area showing pictures of the outside and below the blueprints of the inside.

"That compilation is about two years old. Granted, some things might have probably changed. Don't treat the map like it's trustworthy. For the most part, however, I assume things are just as they were two years ago, anyway."

Ratchet looked over the pictures and plans of the compound. It had a similar layout to Zordoom. The planet had no breathable air and oxygen was only supplied for inside the prison. It explained why the outside was watched over only by robots. Clank uploaded the schematics to their nav-units as Ratchet pressed onward toward the moon prison.

"There aren't any places to land on Balva that are safe. This prison isn't for visiting," the voice heeded.

"That's not a problem," the mechanic assured.

"Cloaking device?" he/she asked.

"Installed and ready for use."

"Just be careful about that, Lombax. I don't know if they have a jamming device for those."

Both ships began to advance to the planet Hol Hayuk and the moon was more visible now. Femka watched out of her window with anticipation. Ten million thoughts ran through her mind about this whole endeavor. Ratchet was really about to break into a prison to free some guy that he didn't know to find another guy they still didn't know all in theory that this man could help her return home. The woman couldn't conjure up an appropriate feeling. She was nervous, shocked, puzzled, uncertain and just afraid.

"Do you have a plan for this… what's your name?" Ratchet asked confused.

"You can call me Gallo and yes, I have a plan. Do you?"

"I've got one but I have some qualms."

"Your female friend?"

"I'm not taking her with me."

Femka sighed with relief as she sank back in her chair. She wasn't about to be a part of this.

"What's your plan, Lombax?"

"I can't trust you but I can trust her. I want her aboard your ship while you give me the information that I need as Clank and I infiltrate the prison to find your friend."

"Alright. It's a deal. I can't exactly fight anyway," Gallo said with a small smirk on his/her face. "But is she alright with it?"

Ratchet turned his head to look back at Femka asking for her approval but she was hesitant.

"I'll be alright down there. I've done this stuff before," he said. "But I don't want you down there with me."

"How long will it take you?" she looked up at him worried.

"If we play our cards right and Gallo gives me the right instructions, then no more than an hour."

"You promise you'll be safe?"

"I promise."

She nodded silently as Ratchet then turned himself back to the monitor and responded to Gallo's last transmission.

"Fly your ship over here; we'll link for a minute to send Fem over to you."

"Roger."

The masked Gallo flew the ship close to Ratchet's and kept at the same speed. A small attachment on the side door was initiated to link the two ships together. Femka stood up from her chair as did Ratchet and Clank. The woman walked over to the door as the mechanic retrieved some provisions for her. The door opened revealing the metal tunnel that went to Gallo's ship. The alien was waiting on the other end visibly. Ratchet stood next to Femka as she turned around to look at him with a sad face.

"It's not goodbye yet. Don't worry; I'll be okay." He patted her shoulder. "Do you wanna take your bag with you?" he asked only to which her head shook 'no'. "Well, I want you take this oxygen mask with you anyway and this small provisions pack, just in case."

Femka took the pouch when he handed it to her and hooked it on her belt along with the mask. She motioned to hug him and closed her eyes as he did the same squeezing her tight.

"Can I give you something, too?" she said unhooking her grip around him and stared at him. "Just in case."

Ratchet watched her unfasten the necklace that hung around her neck and took his hand to place it on his palm as she covered her other hand over it. He smiled and did the same with his hand on top of hers. He took the blue and purple gem and clasped the latch together so it hung around his neck.

"You promise me?"

"I promise you."

Femka stared at him for a moment and then turned her eyes away. They quickly glanced back to him again and she boldly pressed her lips against his only to turn around and run through the tunnel and onto Gallo's ship and move out of sight. Ratchet blinked his eyes, his nose turning pink again. The doors closed and the Lombax looked to his companion with a grin. The small robot shook his head slowly and followed him back to their front seats.

"Lombax," the voice came over the intercom.

"Why does everybody insist on calling me that? I have a name," Ratchet complained to himself.

"I'll orbit the moon from a safe distance and feed you the info from above. If we get interrupted, there's no other way I can help you."

"I've got the map and the plans. If anything goes wrong I'll abort. Clank will set our comm-links to private, so hopefully we won't get intercepted."

"Alright. Good luck."

Femka had sat in one of the seats as she saw Ratchet and Clank's ship fly on ahead of Gallo's. The stranger looked back to Femka through the mask as she sat looking at her feet with her hands cupped together and her thumbs twiddling.

"So, what's your story?"

"It's nothing much, really," she said with a small shrug of her shoulders. "I'm from a planet called Earth. It's in a place called the Milky Way galaxy. I came here on accident. My planet doesn't know anything about life outside of it, intelligent life, I mean."

"How long have you been here?"

"A couple months or something like that."

"So, you need to get back home to planet Earth, hm? Marlow will help you. Undoubtedly."

Femka at the mysterious alien with a strange expression.

"What's with the mask?"

"I always keep my mask on in public, with company, anywhere. I don't want to show my face."

"Why?" she pressed inquiringly.

"Personal reasons."

"Oh."

Femka gazed to another direction and sat quietly until she heard a beeping sound coming from Gallo's comm-link.

"Gallo, I'm landing on Balva. So far, so good," Ratchet's voice spoke out.

"Good. Just follow my instructions now when you're ready."

"Affirmative. Go on."

"You need to land in the back of the main facility. My friend is located in Building Alpha of the compound but you can't just go in there and sneak around like it's nothing. Before you can make it to the building itself you'll have disarm a double-security field."

"That would've been nice to know before I came down here…"

"I have faith that you can deactivate it. Now listen carefully," the stranger began, "both controls are in the back. The first node is in a tower and the second is on the outside below it. Check your schematic. I have the points marked for you. Once you've disarmed the field it'll allow you access into the facility, granted that you're not caught yet. Within those walls is my friend. He's being imprisoned in Unit Seven of Sector Veras. I can't tell you how well guarded that area is, so I suggest thinking of another distraction besides terminating the security fields, though that itself should buy you some time."

"And your friend's name?"

"Faas. He's a Remilien as well."

"Alright," Ratchet said with a sigh. "I've got this. I'll be putting my communicator on silent until I'm departing."

"Affirmative."

"Fem," he called out to her, "I'll see you soon."

Ratchet silenced his device and Gallo did the same. His ship soon touched down on the moon not before his cloaking unit was initiated. Ratchet glanced over the plans once again onboard the ship and Clank inspected them as well.

"From where you have landed, there is at least a twenty meter distance to the tower and from the tower it is an additional fifteen meters to the building itself. Gallo said that we can enter from behind the building. I suppose the question is, how?"

"Yeah, how to find a way that isn't too obvious." Ratchet scratched his chin. "Well, pal, we've been in this business long enough to both know that there's no such thing as a quiet break-and-entry to a mega-prison. Here's the deal, we dismantle the field simultaneously. You take the bottom and I'll take the top—that part should be quiet. At the top of the tower I'll initiate a distraction, a decoy. Meanwhile, you'll run to the back with guards distracted and enter the building."

"And what about you?"

"I'll be fine. I'll think of something. I'll meet up with you somehow. Just find a way to get inside." Ratchet scanned over the blueprints. "There. You can use one of the ducts," he pointed. "Let's do this."

Ratchet stood up from his seat and went to the back of the ship to arm himself with the supplies that he would need. Various gadgets and other weaponry were equipped to his belt and pouches. Clank was given supplies as well, small explosives and the like. The small robot hopped onto Ratchet's back and the mechanic slipped on his mask for oxygen. With that the two were off of the ship and stealthily headed for Hol Hayuk prison. The transmission tower was well in view as Ratchet hid behind some rocks that were big enough to cover him. He pressed a button on the side of the helmet that he wore for the occasion as a visor covered his eyes and zoomed closely into the view ahead. There were six robots watching around the tower below and several others that were scattered about around the field.

"Okay. There's six of 'em, and a lot of others dispersed around the force field. I'm gonna throw a flare away from the tower and see how much of a distraction that causes."

Ratchet took out a small gun and pointed it over the rock and upward slightly. The shot was initially silent but the flare flew past the tower over to one of the robots outside the field and exploded.

"Oops…" Ratchet's head perked up. "That wasn't a flare…"

The robot's body parts flew in several directions as other guards came running to it to check out the action. Ratchet took the opportunity to run to another rock that was closer to the tower. Four of the six guards left their station at the base of the tower and Ratchet loaded the gun again shooting it at another guard in the opposite direction causing him to explode as well.

"Ratchet, this is not a quiet entry."

"No, but it's working so far," he said making another dash to the tower's base. The mechanic quickly opened a satchel on the side of his belt pulling out a small circular device with a red button that glowed and Clank hopped off holding the same thing in his hand.

"Okay, stay down here and I'll give you a signal to blow up the control."

Ratchet hurried up the tower's exterior and climbed upward. Clank watched around him to see if any more guards were coming and only noticed that they were still distracted by the small explosions and were trying to trace the whereabouts of the gunfire. There were two guards coming from around the field, however. Clank stared up to see how far Ratchet had climbed—he was almost there. Ratchet climbed through a window in the tower noticing a guard was still in there but had his back turned to him. The Lombax froze and inched closer to the control panel with his back pressed against the wall. His eyes shifted cautiously over to the switch panel and his fingers were almost able to touch it. The metal monster turned around with a glare of red in its eyes and pointed a gun at the mechanic who smiled nervously.

"You...," he squinted knowing that the alien was the reason for the disturbances.

Ratchet threw the small device at the robot as it blinked faster and faster. Soon the room was in flames and Ratchet was propelled out of the window. Clank witnessed it from down below and was certain that their plan was already ruined. He placed the detonation bomb on the control panel below regardless and let it explode while taking cover behind a rock as Ratchet fell in front of him with a loud thud.

"What is your plan now?"

"Go through the aqueducts…," he said with his face on the ground in grunts of pain. "I'll be right behind you…"

The tower meanwhile had fallen and crumbled completely all around leaving that portion of the field while open. Guards were dispelled and on their way to the mess. Clank didn't want to leave Ratchet behind but they had a job to do. The little robot hurried as fast as he could to the duct that spat out filthy water from inside the building. It was big enough for him and would barely be the same for Ratchet. Clank crawled inside and ran ahead looking back every so often for his friend but Ratchet was never behind him.

"I must continue onward," Clank sighed. He turned and continued en route with the plans.

On the outside Ratchet was lifting himself off of the ground slowly as his ears picked up the sound of running footsteps and an alarm.

"Oh, great…"

He hurried behind one of the rocks and peeked over to see the guards of the prison carrying heavy weaponry and searching for the culprit. His eyes scanned the building seeing the aqueduct that Clank went in through and bit his tongue.

"I can't make it in there now, it's too late."

"Ratchet," Clank spoke through his comm-link quietly. "Where are you?"

"I'm still outside. It's too crowded out here for me to go in unnoticed. Keep going forward and look for Faas. I'll have to stay out here until you can free him. Once you do, I'll help clear a pathway for your escape."

"Affirmative. I will maintain radio silence."

Clank turned off his comm-link and wandered through the ducts until he came to another ventilation unit that was cycling oxygen and carbon dioxide. Clank removed the cover of the vent and slipped into the mechanics room. There was no one on guard there but his eyes were scrupulous to search for any sign of a camera. It would appear that none were placed about the chamber. Clank took the moment to oversee a holographic floor plan of the building and locate Gallo's friend. A thought occurred to him as he examined the holo-display. It wasn't anything serious but he would store it in his memory until he met up with the masked stranger again. Clank turned off the holographic map and proceeded to the other end of the room finding another vent up above. The robot climbed up a pipe and disassembled the screws from the vent cover and crawled inside. His sensors could still hear the alarms that were sounding outside. He hoped Ratchet would be alright out there. Realizing that hope, his head shook and he continued onward scanning around the hallways when the vents would stop in one direction to let the oxygen out into the prison. After running about and making turn after turn Clank stopped and opened the map once again to pinpoint his location. He was in Sector Veras finally. Clank looked through a gap in the vents and into the hallway behind the small gate. He saw the large sector in front of him, vast and full of cells with depressed or angry inmates. He turned around and moved along the way. Unit seven was right around the corner. Clank stared out of the gate again when he arrived, his green eyes searching and scrutinizing the environment around. There were guards everywhere as to be expected but they were still in alert-mode from Ratchet's commotion that he caused outside earlier.

"Hmm…" Clank rubbed his metal chin. "Faas is a Remilien and I must seek out which one he is or which containment grid he is in." The robot sighed. "This does not seem like sufficient information. I do not know what he looks like."

Clank observed through the bars all the prisoners in that chamber. A lot of them were Remilien but also many were not. There were approximately fifty cells in Unit Seven and an additional six-hundred in Sector Veras. Clank stepped away from the vent cover and turned on his comm-link to radio with Gallo.

"Gallo, I have reached Unit Seven. Which cell is Faas confined in?"

"I don't know," Gallo responded.

"May I ask something? How is it that you know to begin with that he was here in this section of the prison? It seems like you are able to communicate with him somehow. If this is so, why did you not simply ask him to tell you the whereabouts of Mister Marlow?"

"I couldn't just ask him. The last time I talked to Faas was thirteen months ago… He sent me written mail; it was smuggled out and sent to me. That's how I got those blueprints. But that was the only time I talked to him. So it's even possible that he's not in this sector anymore."

"Perhaps a physical description?"

"He has darker skin than your average Remilien. His hair is black. I'm not sure if it's short anymore. He has a tattoo on his forehead that comes down the bridge of his nose and down the center of his face—it's black as well. The last time I saw him his ears were pierced and so was his nose. Does that help?"

"It will have to do," Clank said walking back over to the vent cover. His eyes scanned the chamber again, this time much more closely. "By your story it would appear that you have been planning this break out for awhile," he said still searching.

"Yeah. You could say that…"

"I believe I have found him." Clank switched his communicator to take a picture of the area. "Uploading image to your database."

Gallo's computer received the file opening it up automatically on her computer screen inside the ship. There, in one of the fifty cells was her long, captive friend. She knew it instantly. Femka stared over the alien's shoulder and looked at the prison inmates and squinted to see the small image of Faas in his orange, prison jumpsuit.

"That's him. What's your plan, robot?" the alien asked.

"I will make my way through these vents further and enter his cell. These shafts are too small for him to fit through, but I have an idea…"

"Do whatever it takes. I'll be in your debt if you make it out unscathed with Faas at your side."

"I will see what I can manage."

The tiny robot turned off his comm-link and continued through the ducts to the other side of the unit. The Remilien's cell was numbered as "706" in some other language but Clank made sure to follow the plans precisely so that he was over top it. His feet stepped quietly on top of the vent cover and he could see the prisoner below him sitting on his uncomfortable bed. His foot tapped the metal quietly in an attempt to get Faas's attention. The alien's dark red ears flicked and he finally looked up after another tap. He saw the robot's bright green eyes and gave a strange look. His head turned to the electric grid of his cell seeing the guards walking by occasionally and stood up to look up at the vent again.

"I am here on reconnaissance. Are you Faas?" Clank asked quietly.

"I am. Who are you?" His eyes checked back at the cell gate every now and then and went back to Clank.

"My name is Clank. I am here to break you out of prison, as unorthodox as that may be."

"What?" his voice went sharp but his head turned quickly to make sure no one was listening. He whispered again when he talked. "How? I… what?"

"I have memorized the floor plans of this section by now. From the position of your cell there is only several feet of concrete and metal. I advise that you stay clear of the wall."

The Remilien tilted his head confused with a kink on his mouth and took several steps away from the wall. Clank moved away from the vent cover and sent an SMS to Ratchet who was still hiding on the outside.

Ratchet looked at his blinking comm-link as he stayed low behind a rock and in a small crater. He turned on the device and synchronized with Clank's location.

"Ratchet, I have found him."

"Great, great. Clank, are you almost done? These guys are still looking for me and I'm running out of places to hide," the mechanic whispered.

"I need your help breaking him out."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Is it possible for you to make it to your ship?"

"It's a bit of a dash but I can break for it."

"Excellent. I request that you demolish this segment of the prison with the weaponry on your ship. However, I prefer that you keep it small. We do not want additional prisoners escaping."

"Sounds like fun," he smiled. "Good thing that part of the field is still inactive. I'll SMS when I'm in the ship."

"Affirmative." The robot walked back over to the vent cover and look down at Faas. "Please standby for demolition."

On the outside, Ratchet was keeping his head out of sight and sneaking at every chance he could get to try and approach his ship. There were several guards running about still. They were on their way to repairing the damaged protection grid.

"Oh, damn it…" The mechanic looked about frantically. His ship was still several meters away. His hand reached in his pouch and he pulled out another small bomb. He quickly lobbed it over the rock he hid behind and the explosion erupted opposite his ship. Some guards quickly ran in the direction of the explosion. Another, however, was aware of where it was launched from. When Ratchet went to run he was instantly being shot at.

"Ah, crap! Save your identity, save your identity…" The helmet that he wore quickly covered his face and ears as he ran to his hidden ship. "I don't need this on my record." The Lombax hurried to his ship and hopped inside engaging it as fast as he could. "C'mon, c'mon…"

The guards saw the invader slip into nothingness and stood there for a moment contemplating what just happened. Instead of thinking, they were commanded to just open fire randomly on the spot where he disappeared. When heir bullets and lasers were repelled they knew just where he was. Ratchet's ship lifted off of the guard as it continued to take fire directly until the shields were initiated. The dust from the thrust and lift off of the ship kicked up underneath it.

"Clank, they found me and they're shooting at me. I'm invisible and they're shooting at me. I'll hurry as fast as I can."

Ratchet's ship flew quickly to the location of Clank's nav-unit. His ship entered through the hole in the shield of the prison. His cloaking device had taken several hits and was now revealing his ship on and off. There was a transmission that pending on Ratchet's ship and the mechanic opened the channel only for audio on his end. A face appeared on his screen and it didn't look very happy. It was a bigger species of alien. He resembled an Agorian by many traits of his physique. The red eyed brute wore an officer hat of some type and had a cigar that huffed smoke out of his nostrils when he was about to speak.

"I have no idea who you are or what you think you're doing but if you're planning a jail break and you think you're gonna do it without any consequences, you're dead wrong. Stop now, turn yourself in or we're going to blow your vessel into a million pieces in thirty seconds."

"Oh, boy."

Ratchet closed the channel between him and what appeared to be the head of the facility and initiated his shields to full power. He arrived directly in front of the wall where Faas and Clank were. He was counting his definite explosion but prepared the lasers of his ship.

"Standby Clank, opening fire," he warned.

The small robot broke the vent from inside Faas's cell and fell down. The guards inside heard the loud clunk of metal hit the floor and ran over to Faas's cell. The Remilien looked at the guards with a shrug and held his breath as the wall behind him was destroyed with a thin laser carving out an oddly shaped hole that crumbled the metal and concrete causing to cover the ground. Ratchet's ship was hovering outside as Clank ran towards it and jumped on one of the wings. The Remilien did the same as Ratchet opened the side door and started to fly off. His thirty seconds were well finished and several stationed cannons placed on the outside of the prison opened fire on him. Faas clung to the outside of the ship for his life as oncoming lasers zipped past him.

"Get inside!" Clank yelled to the ex-convict.

Faas tried to reach for the handle on the outside of the ship that hooked onto the door. He nearly slipped off as the ship made a sharp turn and flip in order to dodge a heavy blast. The red alien lost his grip but the ship turned and he slid gripping onto the lower bar of the door as he legs dangled in the air behind him. He pulled himself inside quickly with Clank's help and the door shut behind them both.

"They're on my tail," Ratchet said anxiously. His hands gripped the controls tightly as he continued to evade the attacks.

"They are sending more ships," Clank noted sitting in his regular seat.

"Ratchet, are you alright?" Gallo's voice interrupted the chaos.

"No, my shields are almost depleted and my cloaking device is deactivated. I don't know how much longer my ship can last."

The small vessel fled from the moon base and zipped around as it was heavily pursued by several other ships still shooting at it. Femka finally saw the action from Gallo's ship out through the window.

"Do something!" she yelled.

"My ship's not armed enough to take all of them out. There isn't much I can do."

"What, are you afraid to fight?"

"Can you fly a ship, Earthling?" Gallo snapped.

Femka's face tensed and her mouth frowned as he eyes watched the madness in front of her.

"We can't just watch them like that…"

Gallo was forced to move the ship further away as other ships were about to scream past them to chase down Ratchet and the others. His small ship punched it with a blue burst of flames trying to lose the other ships.

"I think they've got your ID," Faas said buckling himself in a seat finally.

"I noticed. Just hang on." Ratchet's hand pressed on a lever near the steering control and the ship moved faster.

Gallo's ship punched it as well. They didn't want to lose sight of Ratchet's ship. The masked stranger made sure to keep connected with the Lombax's communicator. Other planets and ships passed them by so fast. Femka had to keep strapped in her seat. Her heart was beating fast. They were coming up to a dark planet. Several satellites covered the planet as they orbited around. Gallo could finally see Ratchet's ship. Another that was following it seemed to be preparing for something as its cannons glowed blue. The stranger huffed with his/her eyes widened.

"Ratchet, they're going to fire an EMP bomb at your ship!"

The mechanic maneuvered his ship when the one behind him opened fire. A blast of electricity enveloped his small vessel and shocked the computer's circuits. Ratchet yelled out in pain as the shock zapped his hands forcing him to release from the controls. His ship was heading straight for the planet ahead with smoke bursting from its behind.

"Oh, no… Ratchet! Clank!" Femka shouted.

Within in the ship that fired the blast a robot opened a screen to the director of the prison facility back on Balva.

"They're crashing directly onto planet Fortum, sir. Should we retrieve them?"

"No," the commander smiled. "Let 'em die there." He laughed. "That place is a wasteland! If the crash doesn't do the job, the flora and fauna will! They can die there just like Arlis…" He puffed his cigar with a deep growl and frowned.

The gathering of ships dispersed and broke into different directions. Femka watched the ship spiral down into the planet's clutches with horror as Gallo steered the ship out of sight from the other prison vessels.

"Oh, my god… Ratchet…" Femka stood up in a panic. "We have to go after them."

"Femka… We can't just go in there. Those satellites are orbiting that planet for a reason. It's very hostile."

"But we have to go…"

The masked stranger sat in his/her seat looking down at the controls in anguish from the look Femka was giving him/her.

"We'll come back. We're gonna need some weapons, though. We'll just pray that they're still alive."