When Skyla woke up she did so slowly, sleep draining from her like water down a sink. At first, she couldn"t place why she felt so at ease and peaceful, as it had been so long since she'd experienced either emotion. Then she remembered. Last night, talking to Ratchet, learning more about him, about his life so far...and even though not all of it had been pleasant, she'd enjoyed every minute of it. She'd felt happy with him, and his very presence had relaxed her considerably, driving away her thoughts of the facility and Baen and the future. He had such a friendly, easy going nature, she'd almost forgotten exactly who she was talking to (another Lombax) and where they were (a hostile gaseous planet). Almost.
She smiled groggily in her half slumber, it had been somewhat therapeutic, talking to him, and she'd slept so much better after their conversation. It was then she realised that there was something in her hand. Blinking down, it took her a moment to realise what she was holding. Another hand, a little larger than her own, and wearing a familiar looking glove.
Skyla's eyes widened and she came fully awake immediately, assessing her position and situation. She must have fallen asleep while they were still talking, as she had no idea how she'd ended up lying adjacent to the fire, on the blanket they'd been sitting on. And she wasn't alone. Another Lombax lay beside her, not too close, but close enough for her to count his eyelashes with ease. She looked down at her hand again and her brow furrowed in confusion. Their hands weren't just touching each other, their fingers were well and truly entwined, like knotted rope. It took her another second for her mind to put the pieces together – they had fallen asleep holding hands.
All of a sudden, Ratchet took a deep breath and his chest began to rise and fall more prominently, alerting her that he was waking. His eyes slowly opened and Skyla's jaw slackened slightly as his green gaze met her own. He blinked a few times, coming fully awake. He smiled at her briefly before seeming to notice how close they were and glanced down at their joined hands.
Skyla pulled away as if she'd been scalded and drew back, feeling her cheeks redden.
"I-I...er..." she flushed and avoided his eyes, looking at the floor. She sensed his eyes twinkle with good humoured mirth and something tugged in her chest. Out of nowhere, acute confusion had descended over her like a cloud of fog. She felt...embarrassed. Of all things, her...feeling embarrassed. It simply didn't happen. And flushing? What was she, 11? Part of her was angry she'd reacted that way, like a young child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, or their hand in the hold of another...that behaviour was beneath her! And yet, all it had taken was one simple touch...
"How did you sleep?" Ratchet murmured, pulling himself upright slowly. Skyla took a moment to reply, her thoughts interrupted by his voice. She hastened to organise them and pull up a reply,
"Well, thank you," she answered uncertainly, then added after a short pause, "you?" Ratchet reached up and stretched deliberately, ignoring the slight ache in his limbs from sleeping on bare stone. It had been worth it.
"Good. I always sleep better in company," he said. She looked down again and her brow knotted slightly in what seemed like thoughtful confusion. Her expression contained puzzlement, embarrassment and even a hint of anger. Ratchet wondered at it, feeling certain it was something to do with how they had woken up. But they'd just been holding hands, right? But something told him it meant more to her, to both of them.
"Ratchet, I have just received a transmission from the Phoenix," the sandy Lombax looked over to see Clank standing by the force field, "they are waiting for us in orbit."
"That was quick," Ratchet mused as he got up and began making breakfast (ration food in vacuum packs).
"They can be efficient...when they want to be," Clank said. Ratchet grunted in agreement and glanced at Skyla who seemed to have recovered and was waking Maia.
The Cazar"s eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Skyla who was kneeling beside her, shaking her gently.
"Good morning, Sunshine," Skyla said. Maia smiled sleepily,
"Good evening, Moonlight." The grey Lombax smiled at the use of their pet morning greeting. Neither of them could remember when it had started but they still used it every now and again. It was something exclusive between them, and that made it special. Maia stretched as she woke up completely and Skyla handed her a portion of ration food.
"We"ll have a proper meal at lunch," Ratchet promised them both as they dug into the dry and relatively tasteless meal.
Once their meagre breakfast was over they gathered their things and left the cave, leaving little trace of their presence except the burnt out fire. They made their way quickly across Sarathos towards Ratchet's ship, travelling in single file. Ratchet led the way closely followed by Maia and then Skyla. Clank brought up the rear at Ratchet's insistence and the look the he'd given Skyla muted any protest she might have made. When they reached their destination, Skyla got her first good look at Ratchet's vessel.
It was a fighter ship, designed for speed and agility, that much was clear. There were two sets of double wings and a double pronged nose, and the whole ship was a royal purple colour which somehow made it look even more sleek. With a small build and full weapon capabilities, it was clear this was not a ship you wanted to be battling. And even with a jarred wing and obviously battered body, she was elegant.
Skyla approached the ship and put a hand on the nose, her eyes wide with admiration.
"She"s beautiful," she murmured.
"Thank you," came a feminine voice and the grey Lombax jumped. Then she realised the ship was humming with energy and it was it that had spoken.
"Aphelion, this is Skyla. Skyla, meet Aphelion," Ratchet introduced them, pleased by the positivity of Skyla's reaction. Lombaxes were known for their love of technology and Skyla was clearly no exception.
"A pleasure," the grey Lombax addressed the ship.
"Likewise...you look just like my old pilot," the vessel told her and Skyla's eyebrows rose in surprise. She glanced at Ratchet,
"Aphelion is a Lombax fighter ship," the sandy Lombax explained, "I found her on Fastoon and managed to fix her up," he then pointed to the signs along Aphelion"s hull, "that's Lombax writing." Skyla took a step to the side to get a better look. The strange signs Ratchet was indicating looked distinctly like cogs in various shapes and positions.
"What does it say?" asked Skyla.
"My Lombax isn't very good, but I know it says Angel – Aphelion," Ratchet told her. Skyla began tracing the symbols with a finger. This was the language of her people, this was a ship of her people. A relic, of times past.
"Ratchet, I am sorry to hurry you but we must get to the Phoenix," Clanks voice came from nearby. Ratchet looked over,
"Of course. Right everyone...hop in!" Aphelion"s hatch opened and Ratchet jumped in his usual fashion, executing a perfect tumble and landing square in the pilot seat. He leaned over and offered his hand to Skyla who took it with a suppressed smile,
"Show off," she muttered, letting him pull her up. He was surprisingly strong and in no time she was in the ship, wriggling behind the seats as Maia was helped into the passenger seat. The Cazar turned in her seat and opened her mouth to say something but Skyla cut across,
"No, I'm fine Maia. Besides, I'm smaller," she pointed out and the Cazar sighed, pulling the harness across her body.
"Sorry," Ratchet said apologetically as he strapped himself in, "Aphelion"s not built for this many people." Clank suddenly landed on his lap and looked around for space.
"You can go on my lap, Clank, if you like," Maia offered. Was it Skyla's imagination, or did the robot appear to blush?
"Really, Maia, it is no trouble for me...ugh," the robot began to protest but Ratchet simply picked him up and plonked him in the Cazar"s lap.
"Sit there, Clank, it's fine," the sandy Lombax said dismissively, but his eyes were twinkling with mirth and he gave the robot a subtle wink. Clank"s mouth opened and closed a few times but no sound came out.
Aphelion"s hatch closed and Ratchet began flicking buttons. Skyla's head appeared by his shoulder, watching his actions closely.
"I'm doing a systems check," he said in answer to her questioning look.
"Is she alright?" Skyla asked.
"Ah, she"s fine. The Phoenix has the perfect facilities for me to give her a complete check and shine down. Until then, we"re good to go. Hold on." Gripping the wheel, Ratchet pulled gently and they rose off the ground. Checking his flight path, Ratchet took off and they began their ascent off Sarathos, quickly breaking through the atmosphere and leaving the hostile planet behind, hopefully forever.
"It's good to have you back, sarge."
"It's good to be back, J-47," Ratchet answered as he helped Maia out of Aphelion. The Phoenix had been waiting for them in very low orbit and their meeting up had been interrupted, with no reptiles to ruin the occasion. Once Maia was out Ratchet offered a hand to Skyla, but the grey Lombax ignored him and sprang from the cockpit like a cat, landing lightly on her feet.
"Who"s the show off now?" Ratchet muttered with an eyebrow raised and Skyla grinned at him in answer.
"Hey sarge, glad you made it," another robot trotted up beside J-47. Skyla could see a few other robots milling about, and she recognised them as the ones who'd beaten Drako"s gang on Eudora. The Galactic Rangers, she believed they were called.
"What"s our status?" Ratchet asked, starting to plug commands into the terminal beside Aphelion that would fix her up in no time. He added a new coat of paint too, because he knew Aphelion would like that.
Then he noticed that neither robot was talking and he looked up expectantly. The two rangers suddenly looked very awkward and were looking at the floor, fidgeting acutely. They began nudging each other as his eyebrow rose,
"You tell him."
"No, you tell him," they whispered loudly between them.
"Guys, what"s going on?" Ratchet asked with a small sigh.
"Thing is, sarge...somebody..." one robot began.
"Meaning this bucket of bolts," the other said, pointing to his friend.
"No, this bucket of bolts forgot to open the plasma conduits..."
"After our warp jump, so now..."
"They"ve overheated and we need to wait..."
"Around 40 minutes for them to cool off or..."
"This whole ship will explode," they finished dramatically. Ratchet rolled his eyes,
"Who"s really responsible for this?"
"He is!" the robots exclaimed, pointing at each other. There was a muffled laugh and Ratchet glanced over at Skyla who was struggling to keep a straight face. Maia looked to be in similar situation, her mouth covered by her hand with her eyes doing the actual laughing.
"40 minutes you say?" Ratchet clarified.
"That"s right sarge, 40 minutes."
"Then it's back to Kerwan, safe and sound!" the robots looked at Ratchet expectantly. The sandy Lombax frowned at them and watched as the robots optic sensors dimmed and they began to look worried.
"We're sorry sarge," one of them mumbled apologetically.
"Yeah, real sorry sarge," the other hastened to add. Ratchet continued to frown at them for a moment before his face relaxed into an exasperated smile,
"Alright then, if you really are sorry." The ranger"s faces lit up again,
"We are, sarge, we are," they cried in unison.
"Good, then I expect you to be scanning for any hostile activity over the next 40 minutes...and you can express just how sorry you are by being on mess hall duty for the next 24 hours. Dismissed," Ratchet declared. The robot"s faces turned to mild confusion and they glanced at each other.
"Is there a problem?" asked Ratchet.
"No, sarge, not at all," they answered hastily.
"Then why are you still here?" Ratchet's eyebrows rose inquisitively. The two robots stumbled over each other,
"We're not, sarge!"
"We've, er...vanished!" The two Galactic Rangers turned and staggered away as quickly as they could, almost tripping over their own feet in their haste. Ratchet glanced at Skyla and he rolled his eyes,
"Rangers, huh," he muttered and Skyla gave him a lopsided smile.
"Do you girls want a tour?" the sandy Lombax asked.
"Ratchet, I think it would be best if we provided them with more substantial clothing and allowed them the chance to wash," Clank piped up.
"Oh yeah, I forgot...sorry," Ratchet murmured, "you girls can use my bathroom if you like, it's got a shower and everything. And I'll try and find some other clothes for you..."
"Oh, a shower would be heaven," Maia said with a wistful sigh. Skyla laughed,
"Yeah alright, sounds good to me." Ratchet led them through the main hangar and into the side tunnel that led to his quarters. Clank stayed behind to see to Aphelion but promised he'd join in on the tour.
The trio arrived at Ratchet's quarters and Skyla looked around in mild interest. To their right were two sets of bunk beds against the wall with a couple of posters of people Skyla took to be celebrities. The centre of the room was mostly taken up by sofas surrounding a very large holo-screen with what looked like several game consoles spread out before it.
"Yeah, uh...I quite like holo-vid games," Ratchet muttered with just a hint of embarrassment. Skyla hid her grin.
"What's that?" Maia asked, pointing a delicate finger to the left. Part of the room had been converted into a sort of jungle habitat behind bars, complete with vines, boulders and large bamboo plants.
"That is...a long story, for another time," Ratchet answered vaguely with the ghost of a smile. Then he indicated a door to the right, in between the bunk beds.
"This is the bathroom," he said as he pressed a button and the door slid open. They all went in. It was medium in size, with a large shower set against the wall with a toilet, small bathtub and sink too, a wide mirror set above it.
"Soap and shower stuff is in the top drawer," Ratchet pointed to the counter next to the sink, "and there are clean towels on that rack. I'll bring you both some clothes. Call me if you need anything else."
"Thank you, Ratchet," Maia smiled and he nodded in acknowledgement before leaving. The Cazar gestured the shower,
"After you, dear." Skyla shook her head,
"No, no, you're the one who wants it more."
"Yes, so I'll take longer. You grab the hot water while you can," Maia insisted. Not in the mood for arguing, Skyla gave in and obediently stepped into the cubicle, stripping off her clothes as she did. Maia had seen her naked many times before so it was no big deal for either of them. After carefully removing her flower bracelet and setting it aside, Skyla took the soap and shampoo Maia offered her and turned on the shower.
Instantly she was engulfed by a glorious rush of hot water that pounded into her fur, driving out the dust and dirt and blood. Skyla sighed in contentment and stood under the flow for a full minute before starting to properly scrub. Maia wasn't the only one who enjoyed a good shower.
"How did you sleep last night?" Maia's voice drifted over the cubicle walls. Skyla knew immediately what she was getting at. Maia would never ask a blatantly nosey question, she was far more subtle. Still, Skyla knew her well enough.
"I'm sorry," she said, "did we wake you?"
"Only once," Maia admitted, "but it was no worry. I'm glad you two got the chance to talk." Skyla smiled as she began massaging the shampoo into her scalp.
"Me too...how much did you hear?"
"Oh, not a lot. Nothing major, I was half asleep. I heard you laughing, though, it was lovely," Maia told her.
"Mm," Skyla mumbled, ducking her head under the shower to rinse the suds from her hair. At that moment there was a knock on the door and she heard it slide open and voices she took to be Maia's and Ratchet's. Then the door closed again.
"Ratchet and Clank have been so good to us," Maia mused aloud after a while. Skyla snorted, spraying water from her nose,
"They did save my life...our lives...more than once." Maia made a noise of agreement,
"True. How do you think we can ever repay them?" Skyla's expression turned thoughtful as she began to think. Maia was right. Ratchet and Clank had done so much for them, come to her rescue, saved both their lives...and they had done what in return? Nothing. Unless you counted getting into life threatening situations, which Skyla was sure didn't make the "thank you" list.
"I don't know," she confessed eventually. There was a moment of thoughtful silence as the grey Lombax finished her shower and stepped out, into the towel which Maia held out for her.
"Thanks," Skyla murmured, grateful for the warmth of the wool that made her feel just like a baby lamb. Towels at the facility were never this fluffy. Maia took her turn in the shower as Skyla began rubbing herself dry.
"Ratchet's such a lovely guy," Maia announced out of the blue from the cubicle. Skyla's eyebrows rose and fell in surprise,
"Yes...he is," she muttered in reply, but her mind turned suspicious at her friends tone. It sounded innocent...too innocent. What was Maia getting at? The Cazar seemed to notice her suspicion so cut to the chase.
"We've never had 'the boy talk', have we?" Skyla's eyes widened in shock and she dropped the clothes she'd been holding.
"Maia!" she exclaimed, scrambling to pick up and pull on the fresh underwear.
"Well, we haven't," Maia answered, a distinct smile to her voice. Skyla spluttered briefly for a minute, temporarily lost for words as she buckled the belt on her trousers.
"Yes, but, but...there was no need, is no need for t-that," she stuttered. She could just sense Maia's knowing grin.
"Oh really?" the Cazar asked, a questioning and somewhat suggestive tone to her voice.
"Really, Maia," Skyla confirmed as firmly as possible, "what about you and Clank?" she asked, seeking to turn the tables but perhaps only driving Maia's point home.
"What about me and Clank?" Maia laughed, "he's a robot, Skyla."
"Yeah, but..." Skyla trailed off and gave up. Tugging her top down around her she looked at herself in the mirror. It was a military uniform, of a sort, brown in colour with very few additional accents. It would do. Grabbing a smaller towel she began drying her hair, trying to drive away the disordered thoughts that Maia's words had brought on. She knew Maia would never say something like that if there was no truth to it, and it was true that Maia and Skyla had never had 'the boy talk' as she put it. At the facility, there hadn't been any point. Everyone at the facility was like close family, and thoughts of...making things closer were very rarely enacted. Every now and again you'd get slaves who took things a bit too far and ended up having...unfortunate accidents. Baen did not like his possessions mingling in such a way without his concession. So the slaves were close, but not that close. And until recently, Skyla hardly ever thought about finding someone. She'd always thought that it would be her, Maia and Jaymz forever, that they would all grow old and die together, inside or outside the facility. But now...things had changed, and she wasn't prepared for them. It wasn't fair.
There was a burst of steam as the cubicle door opened and Maia stepped out, quickly wrapping herself in a towel. Skyla looked at her through the mirror while her friend gazed solemnly back.
Maia instantly saw the confusion in Skyla's and felt her heart strings tug. She knew that look, even if she'd thought she'd never see it in Skyla. It was the look of a creature experiencing confusion of a very acute and specific kind...for the first time. Maia had never really talked to Skyla about finding someone special because...she'd thought that neither of them ever would. Sure, she'd explained where babies came from and what marriage was etc, but she'd never gone in depth about the deeper feelings involved. And now...Skyla looked lost and painfully exposed.
"It's ok, Sky," Maia murmured, putting as much warmth and understanding into her words as she could. That wasn't a throwaway phrase or simple statement, it was a promise. A promise that offered reassurance to the Lombax, reassurance that everything was going to be alright.
"I know," Skyla replied eventually, taking comfort from the look in Maia's eyes. Maia was here with her now, and she wasn't going anywhere. She would help Skyla see everything through. Maia would be there for her, always.
"That outfit suits you," the Cazar said as she began rubbing herself down and pulling on the other pile of clothes.
"Mm," was all Skyla said. When the Cazar was dressed she checked herself in the mirror briefly before picking up a hairbrush from beside the sink. She held it up to Skyla with a questioning look and the grey Lombax nodded. Maia moved around her friend and began brushing the grey locks in gentle, rhythmic strokes.
Several minutes passed with no communication between the friends, only the dripping of the shower and noise of the brush penetrating the quiet. Maia's hands were gentle and every knot and tangle succumbed easily to her touch and soon enough, Skyla's hair was neatly brushed. Maia then rested her chin on Skyla's shoulder, looking at her friend through the misty mirror. Their forms were slightly distorted by the condensation, but they were still very much themselves.
"You are so beautiful," Maia murmured softly to her friend. Skyla smiled as the comment pierced the fog in her mind and soothed her like a balm,
"So are you..." she returned, "and you'll make a beautiful bride someday." Maia laughed,
"And you'll be bridesmaid, obviously." Skyla looked at her friend, at the love and kindness that dwelt in her eyes. Maia was Skyla's best friend in the galaxy, an irreplaceable companion. Maia was and always had been Skyla's rock, from the moment they'd met, and she would be for the times ahead. Maia was the mother Skyla had been robbed of, so many years ago. Maia was everything Skyla could want for in a friend, and more.
"You deserve a prince," she murmured to the Cazar. Maia laughed again,
"Here's hoping. You never know, maybe there is a royal prince out there with my name on him," she joked.
"I'm sure there is," Skyla assured her.
"Mm, likewise for you, little one...though he may not be a prince by name," Maia said ominously. Skyla's brow furrowed in confusion once again. The Cazar squeezed her shoulders gently,
"It's ok, Sky," she repeated and after a few seconds the grey Lombax's mouth twitched into a small smile. Maia smiled her own smile and patted Skyla on the back once,
"Go on, Ratchet's waiting."
"I'll wait for you," Skyla said.
"No, no, it's fine. I'll only be a minute," Maia insisted, starting to run the brush through her own hair. Skyla hesitated briefly before she left the bathroom.
Ratchet looked up as the bathroom door opened and his eyebrows rose in mild surprise as he registered the Lombax that walked out. Wearing a military uniform with clean fur, brushed hair and no traces of blood or dirt, Skyla looked, well...clean! It wasn't that she'd been really dirty before, but her fur did seem to be a shade lighter and looked almost silver in tone. And the uniform really suited her too, complimenting her figure perfectly as it hugged her slender waist...
"You alright?" Skyla asked and Ratchet blinked as he realised he'd been staring. He cleared his throat,
"Yeah, fine," he replied, his voice slightly deeper than normal and he cleared his throat again, "it suits you, the uniform," he added. Skyla smiled and tugged nervously on a lock of hair,
"Thanks," she muttered, her gaze jumping all over his face but never meeting his eyes. Ratchet felt the situation grow distinctly awkward and he glanced at the door behind her to stop himself from staring again.
"Oh, Maia's just brushing her hair," Skyla said in answer to his questioning look. Ratchet nodded and swallowed. As if on cue, the door opened and Maia stepped out, wearing an identical uniform to Skyla with her hair brushed neatly and tucked behind her ears. She beamed at Ratchet,
"Thank you so much for that, Ratchet. I can't tell you how nice it is to feel clean again. And thanks for the clothes too, they're perfect."
"No problem, any time," the sandy Lombax answered with a smile.
"Sky, you left this in the bathroom," Maia said, holding up the pile of clothes in her hands, specifically indicating the flower bracelet lying on top. Skyla picked it up, extremely grateful that Maia had remembered it. She slipped it onto her wrist,
"Thanks." She would have been distraught if she'd lost that, her last link to the Enyd...
"What should I do with the rest?" Maia asked Ratchet.
"Oh, just dump them in the bin over there...unless you want to keep any more of it," he told them.
"Nah, we've got all we need," Maia said as she dumped the pile into the bin Ratchet pointed out.
"I spoke to the crew while you guys were in there," Ratchet said, waving a device Skyla took to be a communication gizmo, "they said that we'll be back to Kerwan in around 20 minutes. Apparently, the Mayor and some senior military officials want to meet here around 5 o'clock to make plans for the next 48 hours. Until then, we've been told to stay put on the Phoenix. So, how would you girls like a tour?" Ratchet asked, clapping his hands together in anticipation. The two friends glanced at each other briefly,
"Lead the way, Ratchet," Skyla answered with a smile and a shrug.
They met up with Clank again and spent the next few hours trailing around the Phoenix, Ratchet and Clank taking time to explain every room and even adding in any funny events that had happened in them. Both girls were impressed by how many rooms there were in the ship, and the variety of things they were used for. There was Ratchet's quarters and the quarters of other crew members including a whole room for recharging any tired out Galactic Rangers. The Ready Room was for meetings and had several screens and a long table, the perfect place for strategizing. There was even a sauna.
"You've got to be kidding me," Skyla said as she looked in on the tiled room.
"Nope, it's perfect for relaxing, just make sure you don't go in with any robots...they have a special setting that cranks up the temperature to 1000 degrees Celsius. You'd be fried before you could say chicken," Ratchet explained seriously, then laughed at the look Skyla gave him.
"It is nice to use after a full working day," Clank told Maia who nodded in agreement.
"Though 1000 degrees is perhaps too hot for me," the Cazar mused with a smile.
The Engineering Room seriously impressed Skyla, as she'd never seen anything like it before. They went into warp while there and her eyes lit up as she saw the main reactor positively throbbing with energy, emitting a bright blue light of raw power. Ratchet hid a smile as he answered question after question about the ship and its structure. Skyla clearly had a limited knowledge of such things, but he was more than happy to enlighten her. It was in her Lombax nature to be curious, anyway. The VR Deck was met with a similar delight by the young grey Lombax.
"So you can kick the hell out of dummies for training purposes?" she asked Ratchet as he demonstrated taking out two score of dummies with just his wrench in under 30 seconds.
"Yeah, it's great fun," he told her, smashing in the bodice of the last dummy, "you should try it sometime," he said with a wink. Skyla gave him a sly grin,
"I think I prefer proper competition...rather than mindless dummies armed with sticks." Ratchet laughed at this and Maia simply rolled her eyes.
"I have never seen the appeal of breaking objects, even for training purposes, as you put it," Clank announced.
"My sentiment exactly, Clank," Maia agreed, "it just makes a mess." Ratchet and Skyla exchanged looks and shrugged. Some creatures just didn't get it...
They next visited the Mess hall and Kitchens where the organic crew members would eat and the group stopped there for lunch. Skyla and Maia were amazed and excited at the diversity of foods available and Ratchet was at first confused by their enthusiasm.
"You've never had a hamburger?" he asked Skyla incredulously. The grey Lombax shook her head briefly before getting completely distracted by the meat in a bun which she loved from first taste.
"The food at the facility isn't the most...varied," Maia explained, resisting the urge to remind Skyla of her table manners. She herself was having trouble not to toss aside her knife and fork and use her hands as shovels on the fresh salad Clank had ordered for her, with actual beetroots and cucumbers and even Marcadian lettuce leaves! Ratchet looked from the Cazar to the Lombax and back again. He suppose he should have guessed that they wouldn't have eaten much...but never having a hamburger? It was the simplest thing to him, yet until now, it was something Skyla had never experienced.
"Right," he said, his mind made up, "I'm going to talk to the chef about having a tasting session." The look on the girls faces was enough to make him want to laugh and cry at the same time and he felt a flare of anger towards the one who'd kept them enslaved. They would pay for it, by hell they would.
For the next hour or so, Ratchet had the girl's sample each and every dish he could think of that the kitchen could provide. They ordered only snippets of each meal so they wouldn't fill up too fast, but it was hard for them to pace themselves, especially when Maia discovered pizza.
"This stuff is incredible!" she announced in a very un-Maia-like fashion, with her mouth full and cheeks bulging. Skyla looked up from her spaghetti Bolognese portion to laugh at Maia's expression before digging back into the meatballs in sauce. Pizza was quickly usurped from Maia's favourite food list when desserts came around and she tasted chocolate fudge cake for the first time.
"I'm in heaven," she said, a slight moan to her voice as she spooned mouthful after mouthful of the stuff between her lips. Skyla, meanwhile, had discovered an array of foods that all scrambled for the place of favourite. Hamburgers were definitely up there, but so were Veldin style chicken chow mein, pizza and Aquatos finger-fish with chips. But when it came to desserts, there was only one winner – treacle tart.
"This is...amazing," she told Ratchet, her voice filled with awe as she shovelled another spoonful of the stuff into her mouth. Ratchet laughed, absolutely thrilled by both girls reactions to the feast,
"I'm glad you think so, it's one of my favourites too," he told her, but he didn't think she heard.
When they were finally full, Skyla sat back, belly bulging slightly,
"Right, that's it...I can die happy," she announced contentedly. Maia licked her fork clean and set it neatly on her scraped plate.
"Me too," she agreed, then caught sight of Skyla's face which was plastered slightly with different foods. Her mouth twitched, no doubt her own face was in a similar state. The Cazar looked at Ratchet,
"Where's the nearest bathroom, please?" The sandy Lombax's expression turned worried,
"Are you alright? Do you feel sick?" he asked, eyes full of concern.
"No, I'm fine. That was...wonderful, thank you. No, I was thinking about...cleaning up a little," Maia told him, gesturing herself and Skyla with a smile. The concern left Ratchet's face,
"Oh yeah," he glanced at Skyla and a smile darted across his lips, "that's fine. Follow me." The two girls got up and walked (slowly) after Ratchet who showed them to another bathroom, a public one. The Cazar splashed her face with water, rinsing all the remnants of the meal from her face. Skyla looked like she was about to fall asleep and Maia flicked water at her playfully,
"Wake up, little one." The Lombax shook her head and blinked blearily,
"Hm? Oh, right." She obediently wet her own face with water, rubbing the tomato stains from her cheeks.
"It's a miracle we didn't get any on our clothes," Maia muttered, drying her face with a towel. Skyla made a noise of agreement before drying her own face, feeling a lot more alert now.
After that, they continued the tour, visiting the Observation lounge which was the spot for social gatherings for the crew. There was also a Sickbay for organic and non-organic beings, and while there, Clank found the girls anti-indigestion tablets which they took gratefully.
"Heaven knows I've never eaten that much before," Maia said after she'd gulped down the pill. Ratchet frowned slightly at this but made no comment. They then visited the Brig which was for misbehaving crew members (Ratchet joked). But where Skyla had been impressed with the VR Deck, Maia was most impressed by the Trophy room,
"You collected all these?" she asked in surprise, looking at the walls that were lined with shelves overflowing with trophies and awards.
"Yeah, but most of them are junk. The special ones I keep back in my apartment," Ratchet said dismissively. Skyla noticed one trophy near them and read out the label,
"Good Morning, Metropolis - Kerwan's Top Magazine - Most Eligible Bachelor of the Year Award." Ratchet hid a blush and tried to play it down,
"Yeah, well..."
"2nd place," Skyla finished, her mouth twitching as she struggled not to burst out laughing. Ratchet pulled a face, his tail twitching,
"I was beaten by a fat Rilgarian," he said.
"With gold teeth and bad breath, if I remember correctly," Clank added and Skyla choked. Maia thumped her friend on the back,
"Their mistake, Ratchet," the Cazar said sweetly. Skyla screwed her eyes shut against the tears of laughter that threatened to fall. Maia was quick to pull her from the room.
They then made their way back into the main hangar where Skyla saw several arm robots working on Aphelion. They looked like they were making good progress and the ship looked to be in almost peak condition. Ratchet led them over to what looked like a vendor.
"This is the Gadgetron Weapons vendor...it's got all my old stuff I used to fight with when we lived here."
"You lived here?" Skyla asked.
"Only for a while," Ratchet told her and moved over to another vendor.
"And this is the Gadgetron Armour vendor...but I don't use any of it any more since I've got upgrades since then," he explained.
The last room they visited was the Bridge, where they travelled in a turbo lift from the Hangar. As they stepped out, Skyla's eyes widened in appreciation as she took in her surroundings. They stood at the top of a platform that extended in front of them, a large chair set at its tip where Skyla presumed the Captain would sit. Ramps led down either side of them, leading to the front of the Bridge where consoles were laid out before the largest screen Skyla had ever seen, it took up the whole wall! They weren't in warp anymore and practically the whole screen was taken up by a single large planet, Kerwan.
"Welcome to the Bridge," Ratchet announced with a flourish of his hand.
"Hey sarge, great timing! The Mayor and the others will be here any minute," called a robot from one of the terminals. Skyla's eyebrows rose in mild surprise. It was 5 o'clock already?
"Thanks, G-13. Is the Ready Room ready?" Ratchet asked.
"Um...it should be," the robot answered uncertainly.
"Go check that it is...Sasha will kill me if she thinks I've been messing up her ship." The Ranger obediently scurried away. Ratchet walked over and sat down in the Captain's chair.
"So...is this your ship, then?" came a voice and he turned to see Skyla by his shoulder, looking around the place.
"Yeah, in a way. Sasha used to be Captain...but then she became the Mayor so I'm the one who's officially in charge of the Phoenix. I'm hardly ever here, though, so the Rangers look after her for me," Ratchet explained.
"You know the Mayor?" Maia asked curiously from his other shoulder.
"Yeah, we worked together in the past. She's a Cazar, and her dad's the Galactic President," replied Ratchet.
"Whoa, you've got friends in high places," Skyla thought aloud.
"They do come in handy when I get in trouble," Ratchet told her with a sly smile.
"And how often is that?" Skyla asked, an eyebrow delicately arching into a questioning look.
"Too often, some might say," Ratchet answered with an air of mischief as he winked at her. Skyla's eyes narrowed slightly but she was smiling. Then she caught sight of Kerwan again,
"So this is Kerwan?" she asked, starting to move away from the Captain's chair.
"The one and only," Ratchet answered, watching her as she went down the ramps and up to the main screen. Skyla looked out with wide eyes. From what she could see, Kerwan was a very active planet as ships of all shapes and sizes were entering and exiting the atmosphere like bees to and from a hive. The planet itself was green in colour, with banks of clouds visible over the surface, as well as patches of blue where there were enormous lakes or small seas. Kerwan. It looked so big and full of life and...welcoming. It was no wonder Ratchet lived here, she hadn't even been to the surface but already she could see it had everything you needed for a comfortable life.
"It's so perfect," she murmured to herself.
"Incoming transport, sarge, direct from the Mayor's office," a robot announced and Skyla looked up as several figures materialised to the side. The Mayor and the officials were here and her heart leapt at what their arrival meant. Now was the time to focus, the time to plan, the time to get help and free her friends...and bring Baen down.