I'm back as usual, at 2 in the morning... The morning before first first end of year exam... Oh I'm sure I'll be fine. :P
Just a quick note, Varl looks like, well to me at least, he is pretty much the Cragmite skin on ToD. Just in case you couldn't picture him :)
A quick thanks too everyone who has reviewed, guests and members alike.
Now enjoy the chapter! :D
I sat down in my big red chair at the head of the ship and watched through our satellite feed as Ratchet flew away from the dull, murky planet that the Frey live on. As the old cargo ship he stole ventured farther and farther out into space, farther away from our cameras and closer to the planet we grew up on, I couldn't help but giggle at my devious plan which was falling into place so well. The plan which ultimately would end up in Ratchets demise. I smiled at that though, and not for the first time.
"Shouldn't we be going after him boss?" My second in command asked. He sounded nervous. Then again so did everyone else who spoke to me. If they didn't, they wouldn't be speaking for long.
"Did you not read the plan I sent you!? Does anyone ever read my emails!" I shouted out so loud that silence fell afterwards. Heads turned as I laughed maniacally and raised my hand in a dismissing manner. The second in command looked like he was ready to die he was shaking so much. He wouldn't be the first… But I liked him. He was much braver and unsympathetic towards others. When I was eventually done with my plan and moved back to Polaris, he would make a good leader for his kind.
"I'm only pulling your legs! There was no email, the whole plan is in here." I tapped my forehead, grinning. Everyone around the room look at me like I was a nutcase, unstable. And that was who I was.
"But didn't you say-"
"Atatat! I already told you I have my plans. Dont question me or you'll end up like your predecessor…" Questioning me? How bold. He would definitely be a great leader.
"Yes sir."
"He will be back - Tomorrow I suspect. Then we can initiate phase two. Did you get those fakes I told you to get?"
"Yes sir, they have been in storage for the past week."
"Excellent… Just remember. The Lombax is mine."
I dropped my speed as I neared the planets atmosphere, not wanting to be thought of as a kamikaze. I was in a Frey ship after all, and they were prone to do things like this even when not provoked.
The ride back to Veldin felt longer than it was, much longer. The minutes dragged out to the point where I had to blast music to try and distract myself from being swarmed by my thoughts. The past day felt so real… But it was a lie. I had only been conscious for several minutes, not several hours. At least the radio has some good music on I thought after minutes of spamming the delete button on the recent memories in my head. An old favourite from a fairly primitive planet came on under the 'Unheard Hits Hour' that was currently being broadcast. The chorus was catchy and unlike most of the crap music today. "Her love shines over my horizon, she's a; slice of heaven. Warm moonlight over my horizon, she's a; slice of heaven." Was sung by a group of men followed by a multitude of wind instruments unique to the planet. This was definitely a song I had to remember, and as a bonus it even put good thoughts into my head. My slice of heaven. Talwyn. I'd be seeing her soon, I know I would.
Not too long after the Unheard Hits Hour was up, the acid jazz which was playing was suddenly interrupted by a lot of static, like someone was sending a transmission. When the person spoke, they must've been using a cheap microphone because I could only just understand what they were saying. I guess it was good cover if you didn't want to be given away by your voice.
"Attention, Cargo Ship 8209-Gamma. Your ship has been identified as one of the Frey, which we are currently not at compliance with. State your intentions or we will be forced to shoot." It must've been the Veldin Planetary Defence Center, or what was left of it at least. Maybe I could get in contact with Tool… If he was still alive. I'm sure he was, nothing could kill that man, not even his own wit.
"Don't shoot, this is Ratchet speaking. I had been held captive by the Frey for…" It struck me that I didn't actually know how long I had been away for.
"Ratchet? Is that really you?" The voice said. Just the rise and fall of the man's sentence told me who it was, even through the budget microphone he was using.
"Tool! Yeah, it's me. I'm alright, just let me land, I've had a… rough, couple of hours. How long was I gone?"
"4 hours max. Talwyns worried sick, and so is Clank. Though everyone, them included knew you'd come back somehow. It was just a matter of when." I smiled at the faith everyone had in me. Sure they would've been planning something if I didn't return after a day, but they trust me enough to handle my own… though I doubted Talwyn would ever let me out of her sight again, and truth be told I didn't want her out of mine either.
"Great. Give me a place to land, and tell them I'm on my way."
"Will do." The Veldinian said, and with that our transmission ended.
True to my word, I had touched down at the co-ordinates Tool had sent me, but getting there had shown me how much damage had befallen the once energetic city. Rubble was everywhere, and well as broken glass and ash remains. It was going to be a while before it was restored to its former glory. Maybe this time they'll update the whole cities defence system to ultimately make it safer for the population.
As I landed the old cargo ship, Clank, Talwyn, Tool and the president of the Veldin Defence Force welcomed me back. I also noticed more than a couple Galactic Rangers patrolling the area, on high alert due to the recent attack and I wondered if the Frey were going to invade again. Actually, I'd put my money on it. Varl wont stay away for too long, especially now that I'm back here.
I hadn't even closed the door to the ship before Talwyn had her arms around me, hugging tightly and that confirmed it. She would not let me get away from her like that again. If there was any danger, it'd be a team effort. Before she started getting even the slightest bit teary, she put on a hard face and took hold of my hand. From there I waved to the others standing no more than 5 meters away, which got me smiles from my friends, but only a stern wave from the general, which I expected.
As Talwyn and I moved closer to the three, I gave Clank a look that told him everything and he nodded, understanding the wordless speech I gave him. Tool on the other hand was a much more vocal person, and almost interrogated me in the only way tool can, all the while giving me information on what had been going on since I left. But before I could even start answering his questions, he set off with his story of the past four hours.
Apparently about half an hour into battle, all of the Freys armed forces boarded their ships and left. It was almost like they couldn't be bothered finishing off the job, but then i was reported missing and everything made the slightest bit more sense… Though for the most part we were still clueless. Varl had most likely gone insane in the recent years, at least that's what I had gathered from his actions and his maniacal laughter.
Tool had explained nearly everything that happened, from deaths and casualties, to when the Galactic Rangers had showed up and how they had quickly regained order amongst the citizens in a small town about an hour away. The city was classified as a high alert war zone for the time being. When he had almost finished talking, we had ended up at the new headquarters, which whilst not as flash as the old one, still had all the key features as well as extra rooms for soldiers and other officials. We had walked into the main room when he grabbed a small green remote and pointed it towards a large white wall. Suddenly an image appeared of a person I wasn't to fond of.
"Approximately 84 minutes ago now, we received this transmission from Varl. I'll let you watch it first before we discuss it further." He pressed the button again, and the cragmites projection became animate.
"By now you must be wondering where you hero is, why we've stopped, and why things have been like this. Your answer is being projected right in front of you," He paused for a second, pointed towards himself and laughed his almost horrendous laugh which I had quickly grown to hate.
"All me. Guilty as charged! Hah. Now as for what I have planned… You'll find out sooner or later. Let's just say its… 'All in the plan.'" He laughed again before the recording cut off and the wall turned back to its original white state.
Tool gave me a questioning look, and a shrug. He didn't know what Varl had said to me obviously.
"I know what Varl is planning. He told me after doing other things. It was right before I escaped. Apparently, that abandoned Cragmite Vessel we found back in polaris was home to 8 Cragmites 3 days before we got there. When I initially went to Polaris, Varl followed me there initially to try an team up with Tachyon. But when he was ignored he moved onto other things, all the while keeping tabs on me throughout the month. In the short time when Tachyon brought back a few of the Cragmites, some didn't return to their home dimension after the whole fiasco. The same 8 who lived in that docking station. Varl told me they wanted to go back to their other dimension, and for that he marked them as cowards for not following in Tachyons footsteps and killed them off. But after slaughtering the last one, their machine activated and sent him 'home' to Veldin, where he grew up. All the while he was planning to do what Tachyon couldn't do - finish me off. Then he wants to complete the task of bringing back the cragmite scourge and most likely rule them, like most other 'super' villains do."
At my explanation, Tool and the others who had listened in looked at me in almost shock. Everyone remembered Varl as a hard man, who was violent, not the psychotic killer intent on ruling the universe like he was now. He had truly lost his mind. After all their speechlessness it was clank who spoke first, in almost disbelief.
"He is willing to destroy a city, to kill one person, so he can destroy more cities?" The small robot asked, summing up what I had just said. I nodded.
"Pretty much, and if I'm honest I just want to get this over and done with so I can try and relax for a lengthy amount of time for once." the others laughed a bit. Then it was Tool who spoke, seemingly in command of the whole operation.
"So what are we going to do?"
"Strike. Tomorrow. We'll use the cargo ship as a diversion, though I'm sure they'll barely bite at it. From what he told me, he killed the Freys' leader, and used a hologuise to take the part, and give himself power. So if we take him out, I could bet that we could do the same thing to 'persuade' the planet to trust Veldin again."
"Great. I'll make a plan of action and alert the team. But for now you should rest. You look like you've been hit by a bomb which was full of cryosleep which didn't quite take effect." I just smiled slightly. That was exactly how I felt. Unconscious by drugs is not like sleeping well… Worse in my opinion.
Sooner or later I was in bed, thinking about the situation. My plan was to go alone, with some guns and finish him off quietly… But I was sure that Talwyn wouldn't let me do that. The worst part was that I knew Varl was wanting this to happen. Like he said, it was 'all in the plan.'
He knew we were going to strike tomorrow. And my best bet was that if we didn't, he would.
The reason for adding the radio bit was because I was listening to that song whilst writing. Real Kiwi music right there, if you know it, I salute you, if you don't, have you heard of youtube? Search up 'Slice of Heaven' and it's the first one.
And that is that. So we're planning for the finale it seems... Well I am :P I've got a few more changes planned. Also, if you've been reading the old versions as well as the new ones you'll have noticed I have made it more of a personal agenda rather than 'hating a planet' like it used to be :P