Congratulations
The dry heat was like an oven even from deep inside the depths of the dilapidated skyscraper. There was no humidity whatsoever and the 02 mask was precious little comfort to Rivet's burning lungs. The wind whistled through various holes and gaps creating a slight moan. She didn't need to be told that this was once a Lombax city, nor did she need to be told that the scale of its destruction called into question the very survival of their species. She could hear it in the very wind. The cries of the dead echoed through this building, singing their sorrow. This planet wasn't sand, it was ash. How anyone could live here was beyond her ability to comprehend.
They left the chief behind, bleeding away into the dark. Rivet took the point on the way back to the ship, setting her pace at a careful trot. Ratchet was hanging behind her still clutching the kid. Kit seemed to shift behind her but was silent, Clank was too for that matter. Perhaps they were transmitting messages to one another? She wouldn't put it past them, but in any case she found the silence unnerving.
She rounded the corner to where the elder Urt was still sitting. He raised a hand when they passed by.
"Just a moment. I will speak with the boy.""
Didn't the chief just say we need to leave because it's too dangerous?
"Er, well you see the chief just said th-"
"You are being hunted and you should leave now?"
She nodded.
"He is correct but …"
He indicated behind him where a monitor stood. Rivet peered for a brief moment before realizing that she was looking at a long range scanner display. She could see not only their current system but a significant portion of the quadrant.
"Though much of the surface has been destroyed. Many of the satellites remain. Including the sensory defense grid."
He grunted before repositioning himself.
"The Hunters are far enough away. Their nearest ship is at least six hours away. I don't know how it is that you managed to avoid my sensors but your pursuers are not ones to hide their presence. They have no need to."
"Who are they?" Ratchet asked from behind Rivet.
The elder paused before looking at Ratchet.
"Murderers by any name are but murderers. What does it matter what they call themselves? Now, I will speak to the boy."
She glanced back to Ratchet who was already setting the kid down. The fact that the kid seemed to cling to Ratchet didn't go unobserved by Rivet. Even after the kid was placed on his own two legs, he stood with his gaze fixed on Ratchet. His eyes were wider than dinner plates.
The elder grunted, "Crash."
"…"
"Crash?"
The boy jolted all at once. He turned around with twitching ears and a sniffing nose.
"Come here Crash."
Crash glanced back at Ratchet before stepping towards the elder. The elder fixed him in his gaze with the same dour expression he held everything in.
"Are you afraid?"
The boy nodded.
"You should be. But what is a man without fear? He is no man at all. You cannot face your fears without first having fear. This will be your trial. Your chance to conquer your fears. Do you understand?"
The boy nodded again. The elder's expression didn't exactly change but it almost appeared to Rivet that some of his wrinkles subsided. He adjusted himself in his chair again and grunted.
"You were never a true Urt. And though you were not one of us we did not treat you poorly. Now, do a last task for your elder."
"Yes Kar."
"Do not look back, but live your life amongst your people. Can you do that?"
"Yes Kar."
"And if you should return, return as a hero."
"Yes Kar."
"And if you should return as a hero, bring me some DjahDjah grapes."
Crash simply nodded.
"They're good for digestion, you know?"
"Yes Kar."
"Bananas would be nice too. Also, my stereo equipment has seen better days. The ones we hav-"
"What are you doing you old fool!"
The chief emerged from the dark filled doorway behind Ratchet.
"They don't have time! Their lives! Our lives are in danger!"
Kar simply waved his son off before turning back to Crash.
"Don't forget your promise, now you can go."
Needing no encouragement, Ratchet recommenced with carrying the kid. Rivet set a more furious pace now, partly because of the implied dangers and partly because she was, well, furious.
I mean I know the guy is old but sheesh!
She began the ascent in the crooked and jagged stairway. It was easy enough to know where they were going. They just followed the light.
When she arrived at the entryway she was met with the blinding light of the setting sun. When her eyes recovered, she discovered that the crowd had sought shade but were very much still there. Their hooded ragged forms were huddled under broken buildings, desperate to be out of the sun. All of them looked her way as soon as she and Ratchet emerged. She paused, momentarily set back by all the stares; the hopeless, helpless, somber stares.
They don't deserve this! And we shouldn't be running!
She turned to Ratchet, hoping to see the same outrage, the same fight to help these people!
He was gazing out at the crowds, his expression more sorrowful than anything else. He had held a similar expression when Emperor Nefarious had launched his attack on Ratchet's home dimension. Except he also looked resigned. But why? Wasn't he a hero? Hadn't he fought whole wars by himself?
"We have to help them," she found herself saying without any ability to stop herself. It sounded like she was pleading, begging him to come up with some solution to help these people. He just met her gaze.
"We find who did this and then we stop them. That's our best hope at helping these people."
She gave a microscopic nod but then found herself staring again.
Ratchet moved forward. She trailed behind, committing all the faces to memory, all the people. She would return, she was sure of that.
The crowd stayed huddled in the shade, but there was a cluster of them gathered around Ratchet's ship. She had seen some of the defense systems on Aphelion, she wasn't worried about theft or sabotage. Then Rivet noticed something, the gang around the ship were all looking at them. Waiting.
Ratchet shot her a look over his shoulder. She stepped ahead and took point again. The gang had formed a crescent facing them. They were all wielding various tools and heavy objects. Objects that would be great at swinging or throwing.
She subconsciously drifted to her omnihammer.
"Are you my dad?"
She choked on her own anticipation and looked back at the kid who was awaiting an answer from a very slack jawed Ratchet.
"Er, well, you know, we're more like your uncle and aunt."
The kid nodded, brows drawn together pensively. Rivet looked back at the Urts gathered around their ship. The one in the middle, as big as the chief, started to stalk towards them. The rest followed his lead.
"Do you have children?"
There must've been thirty of them.
"What? No, no kids or anything."
They weren't even trying to hide the weapons they were brandishing. One was swinging a club around like he was a batter heading up to the base. Another twirled a shiv in his four fingered hand.
"I would like it a bunch if you and aunty could have children soon! I've always wanted brothers and sisters, but cousins will do!"
They drew closer. Their hooded faces were etched with sneers and wicked grins.
"Um, I'm not planning on having kids anytime soon."
"But aren't you supposed to give your wife children?"
They were about ten meters away. If they had to do something now was the time.
"Hey Aunty!" Crash shouted. The approaching band stopped at the shout.
"Oh! Hey Baku! Jari! Methsed! Look! My family has come back for me! My real aunty and uncle have come! Just like you said they would! I'm going to live with my family!" Crash was beginning to tear up as he yelled all this, but he held no shame for his tears and kept going.
"I'm not going to forget any of you! I'm going to come back one day! With so much water you can bathe in it! I'm going to build a tall tower like the ones we live in now, but upright, shiny and new! And you can all come live there with me! You will always be welcome in my house!"
Crash was catching his breath, Ratchet was patting his back while the kid sat in his grasp hyperventilating. The men shifted in their stances. They no longer held that bellicose bravado. They looked at each other and they looked at the leader in the front who just stood, staring off into the unknown.
At length, the leader stirred, he fixed Rivet and Ratchet with a stare and bowed. "Then please remember us little brother while we look for your return."
He dropped his club and walked away, to some blown out building. The rest scattered in a similar fashion. Till all that remained was one. This one approached slowly.
"The price for your kind would be enough to feed my family for a year." His hooded visage was unreadable but his eyes shifted to Crash.
"Be well little brother." Then he too departed.
"Ratchet?"
"Yes Rivet?"
"This dimension sucks."
"Yeah."
They continued on unmolested. They piled into the ship. Ratchet was in the process of securing Crash. The kid hadn't been in a starship before, he was fighting Ratchet on everything. She allowed herself a chuckle at his expense when Crash 'accidentally' kicked him on the muzzle.
With the kid secured though, it was simply a matter of takeoff. Aphelion was on standby. No preflight startup, no preparation, no ceremony, just takeoff. The poor kid yelped when they pulled off of the ground. He gripped the safety harness with an iron vice and his ears were pointed stiffly in obvious stress. Probably the first time he was airborne for that matter. She leaned over and gave him a pat on the arm. He looked at her with such fear and confusion, and Ratchet hadn't even hit the throttle yet. Then Ratchet hit the throttle.
The kid screamed the whole way up. First in fear and panic, then in amusement and complete delight. He whooped and threw his arms up like it was an amusement ride and he laughed. His total joy was enough to bring Rivet out of a depressing string of thoughts. She didn't have to worry about the other Lombaxes at the moment. In this moment, she could simply enjoy seeing a newcomer to the great wide world of spaceflight. She knew he was going to be a natural.
After leveling off, Rivet observed Ratchet flicking the comms on. "Qwark come in. Is there anything on long range sensor sweeps?"
No response.
"The ship is still on the scope, right?"
Ratchet confirmed his instruments before answering. "I'm reading the Phoenix on the same course as when we left. There's nothing around it either. I think we're clear."
"Gun it. I don't want to spend any more time here."
He obliged with a shift in the throttle. She felt Kit shift on her lap.
"I don't believe we are in any danger. The AI, Chad, has been transmitting constant sensor sweeps since we landed and there has been no suspicious activity."
"Well, let's not take any chances. I'm for getting out of here as soon as we can."
Clank, who was sitting in Ratchet's lap, peered around the seat and her. "And where precisely should we go?"
"Um…"
I've got nothing.
Thankfully Kit had her back.
"We can use the Phoenix's sensors to map out the region and find the next habitable planet. Perhaps the inhabitants of the next planet will be more inclined to help us?"
While Rivet appreciated optimism, today just didn't feel like the day for it. Not anymore.
"The Urts would've helped you! They just didn't have anything to help you with."
She turned back to Crash who was eyeing the conversation with wide eyes. His hand was over his mouth like he just realized he said curse word in front of his grandmother. She gave the kid a crooked grin before ruffling his head.
"I'm sure they would've kid."
He shook off her hand with a degree of agitation. "My name is Crash!"
Her smile didn't waver, because really, no matter how angry he tried to look, he was the most adorable thing Rivet had ever seen. She reached out her good arm.
"Pleased to meet you Crash! I'm Rivet!"
That sounded less awkward in my head. I'm not good at these introductions am I?
The kid took her hand with both of his and bowed his head to it. "Honored to meet you Aunty Rivet."
"It's just Rivet."
"I will call you Aunty."
She tilted her quizzically at the boy. He somehow managed to say the statement with pride. Swelling up his chest as he pronounced, 'aunty.'
"Then I'm going to call you kid."
He smiled at her. A big toothy, razor sharp grin. Kit shifted in her lap.
"It's nice to meet you too Crash, I'm Kit." She looked nervous before she finished. "I'm Rivet's partner."
The boy gave a slight wave, but his grin hadn't diminished.
"You are so new and shiny!"
Kit shifted around, looking anywhere except at the boy.
So robots can be bashful, who knew?
"And my name is Clank. I am Ratchet's oldest friend and I would very much like to be your friend as well."
Grins all around. She still felt a turmoil she couldn't describe. After all, just a handful of minutes ago she and Ratchet had hope of finding their kind. They kinda did, but what if this was all that was left? A small boy and two adults? Hardly enough to save a species if she had to guess.
Despite all that though, she could lose herself in this cheerful atmosphere. She looked at Ratchet, his back to her as he guided the ship on the approach vector. When he turned his head to monitor the systems it was clear that the same infectious mood hadn't captured him. He didn't seem sad per se, just focused.
They entered the shielding and touched down right beside the ship Ratchet had lent her. Crash had already climbed over Ratchet and Clank to get his nose pressed against the cockpit. He was soaking in everything that the hanger bay had to offer.
She chuckled at him. "Alright kid, how about a tour of the bridge?"
The moment the cockpit popped off, zipped out like lightning. He was beyond enraptured at this point. The boy was looking up, down, left, right, front and back. He was looking everywhere except where he was going.
"Ouch!"
He happened to be on a collision course with Rivet's loaned ship. He shook his head and rocketed up with no loss of momentum.
"Come on kid let's go to the bridge, there's one more friend we'd like you to meet."
She heard Ratchet groan but she didn't pay him any mind. She wanted everyone to meet this kid and she wanted this kid to meet everyone!
He ran up to fall in line beside her but she started to dash off to the bridge before he could reach her.
"Race ya!"
His manic grin was her only response. She darted ahead. It wasn't really a contest. He had no idea where they were going and his legs were half the length of hers, but she went easy on him just to hear his laugh when he thought he had almost caught her.
She crossed the threshold to the bridge, claiming total victory.
Eh, so maybe it was a bit of a contest. I need to break the kid into it quickly.
He hadn't lost any of his enthusiasm, and now he was staring wide eyed at everything the bridge had to offer. Dozens of monitors controlling various aspects of the ship, displays with technical readouts that took university degrees to comprehend their meaning, the wide viewport with the breathtaking expanse of black and stairs, and the best for last was 'The' Captain Qwark, standing heroically to welcome them with a dozen cambots hovering behind him.
"Greetings Lombax ambassador! I am Captain Qwark, leader of the Galactic Rangers, former President of the Polaris galaxy, head of The Preservation of Lombaxes and Platypuses Society, and the reason Ratchet and Rivet have reunited with you today!"
He gave his most dazzling and practiced smile, complete with the flashing lights on the cambots. It took three seconds before he realized that the Lombax in question was quite short and wearing literal rags.
Crash was staring at him, mouth opened and ears raised. Qwark just stared right back with a puzzled look on his face before it mellowed out and he turned to Rivet.
"Well you and Ratchet have been busy I see! Not the quickest gestation period I've seen but it definitely ranks! Also worth ranking, is my congratulations to the happy couple on their new bundle of joy! And what's the little fella's name?"
Huh?
Rivet's mind tripped over itself and exploded. In hindsight, she should've seen this coming from Qwark but here she was.
"My name is Crash!"
"It's talking already! My my my, that does take the cake! Well little Crash, I am Captain Qwark Galactic Hero! And you are standing on the bridge of my ship, The Phoenix!"
This all said with over the top flexing and wide gestures captivated the child, he probably had never seen someone as muscular before and he certainly had never seen someone with such a level of showmanship. Rivet's brain had finally jumpstarted.
"Wait, he's not o-"
"Not taking after you in the fur department? True, but the muzzle and tail are definitely yours. Just look at him! Fresh into this world of ours! Covered by all the disgusting unmentionable bodily fluids ejected from your body upon his birth! We should probably get him cleaned. Oh!"
He turned to Rivet suddenly.
"Do you need privacy if he needs to feed? I'm not trying to shame you or anything! Captain Qwark will never shame a woman who has the courage to bear her-"
"Qwark! He's not our kid!"
"Oh. Wait, Rivet, are you and Rachet accessories to kidnapping!?"
"Zoni! No Qwark! We did not kidnap him!"
"She is my aunty!" Squeaked out Crash, totally overwhelmed by everything that was transpiring."
"Aw Rivet! You found family after all! Any of them on board? And would they be interested in a photo shoot?"
Rivet was unable to keep herself from growling, "Qwark. Later. Please, just later."
Fake hero or not, Qwark had enough of a survival instinct to know death's emergence when it came around. Right now, in the swirling icy irises of Rivet's eyes was death manifest.
He shut up.
Before any more words, glances, or glares could be exchanged. A low rumble was heard.
Rivet turned to the kid who was holding his stomach.
"Sorry!"
He was hungry and Qwark saw his chance to retreat.
"Hey Crash! Do you know what's better than a hero!?"
Crash shook his head in the negative.
"A hero sandwich! Let's grab one eh!"
With that, Qwark hoisted a giggling Crash onto his massive shoulders and left towards the kitchen area.
Rivet watched them go but decided not to go along. This was a chance for her and Ratchet to talk and see what their next course of action was. Ratchet hadn't followed them to the bridge. She did notice Kit at the navigator's station.
"Hey Kit, I'm going to talk with Ratchet and see what our next step is. See you in a bit."
"Oh! Rivet! Ratchet and Clank are working on hacking into some of the satellites in the planet's orbit. They believe they can pull some navigational logs or perhaps sensory data to paint a picture of the surrounding region."
"And they can't do that on the bridge?"
Kit knocked her knuckles together.
"I believe they are taking a moment to talk about things. This was undoubtedly stressful to both you and Ratchet."
Rivet raised an eyebrow at the little bot.
"So the reason you're on the bridge is just to keep an eye on me then? Are you and Clank exchanging notes?"
Kit's hands shot up in a surrendering pose.
"No! I am not here to keep an eye on you! I'm just worried about my friend!"
Rivet smiled. She couldn't help herself. They had come a long way in a short while. They still needed some work, but from what she could see from Ratchet and Clank, Lombax-bot relationships required constant maintenance.
She placed a hand on the bot's shoulder joint. "I appreciate it Kit, really, but I'm okay. I just need some time to process this is all."
Kit nodded, "Clank and I are not exchanging notes but this could be seen as a byproduct of our frequent interfacing."
"So it's 'frequent' interfacing now?"
Kit just knocked her knuckles together again and dipped her head.
"Well I'm happy for you two. You seem to be getting along great."
"It's nice to have another bot that I can corroborate with; both on system requirements for output goals and on Lombaxes."
Rivet giggled at that. "Sounds like you're trading notes to me."
"Clank calls it cross referential data exchanges."
"I know what you're doing there! Just because you're a walking thesaurus doesn't mean you're not exchanging notes! You can call it whatever you like but note trading is still note trading!"
It shouldn't be this fun to mess with her.
Kit smiled, "Quality medical professionals submit themselves to peer review, Clank is simply making sure I'm caring for my patient to the best of my ability."
Rivet couldn't contain her laughter. Where had Kit gotten this level banter?
"Trading notes my ass!"
"Other than commentary on Ratchet's observations, no exchanges have been made between Clank and myself on the subject of your buttocks."
"Wait, so you knew that Ratchet was checking me out?"
"Well … yes."
"Could've warned me Kit! I was worried if he was into me or not!"
"I thought it was obvious."
"Well maybe to little Robots, but I don't have eyes on the back of my head that can appreciate Ratchet looking at my ass!"
"Er, I'll be sure to account for that next time."
"…"
"…"
"I'm sorry.
"There's no need to apologize Rivet. No offense was intended."
"It's just that I'm not sure where me and Ratchet stand and it's driving me a little bonkers. Especially after today. I mean, today sucked for reasons other than me and Ratchet but it's just fuel to the fire."
"I must say your sudden directness on the matter is intriguing."
"What's there to say about it? I got called out. I wasn't about to hide."
"Yes, but you've been going out of your way to spend time with Ratchet for approximately ninety-four days. Qwark's party on Megalopolis being the most recent venture. You were insistent on helping him repair Clank, you were equally insistent on him going on a picnic to spend time with Mort, and you were almost demanding that we all go dancing together. This was something you were already working towards."
"…"
"Am I incorrect?"
"No, and you're a little more observant than you let on!"
She chuckled, "I do have the latest upgrades in sensory equipment."
"It's not really complicated, Kit."
"As they say, try me."
"I guess I'm just not as useful as I once was, so I'm trying to do something else with my life."
"Oh Rivet, I wouldn't say you are useless! You still have the capacity to be of great use! You've been instrumental in the recovery efforts after Nefarious's fall."
Rivet stood and began making wide gestures.
"You don't understand, I'm grateful! I've been working all my life to get to this point where nefarious is a word instead of a name. To live a life where, where, … where we're not under tyranny."
The little warbot's hands were hovering over its open mouth as her eyelids narrowed at an upward angle.
"I guess for the first time since … ever! I'm not needed. And … that's a good thing! I can think about my life for longer than five minutes and not feel guilty! I don't have to worry about friends never coming back! I can actually trust people now! Do you know how great that feels!? I've never been happier! For the first time since I can remember, I won. I won and I can focus on … living."
There was a slight pause after this outbreak.
"And Ratchet? Where does he fit in with this?"
"As I said, it's not complicated Kit."
Kit motioned for her to continue.
"I love him."
"…"
"…"
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"That's good."
"I think so too."
"Do you think he loves you too?"
"I'm working on that part Kit."
"Then … good luck."
"Thanks, I'll need it."
She set off, deciding that she left the kid with Qwark for far too long. Though the dormitories had been washed in radiation, the mess hall still remained clean. Or at least it was. But then she discovered Crash, mouth both full of and covered by peanut butter and jelly. This coupled with the oils and dirt that had already caked his fur, painted one dirty Lombax.
He was sitting a chair over from Qwark, a pile of food in front of him. Qwark, having fully embraced the role of fun uncle, had given him every sweet on the menu.
Someone's going to be washing him and it's not going to be me.
The kid looked at her with wide and amazed eyes. Mind still grappling with the secrets of the P.B.J sandwich.
"Computer, find Ratchet."
"Ratchet bro is in the gnarly communications room!"
"Patch him through. Ratchet, can you come to the mess hall? I need your help."
"Copy, we're on our way."
Crash was trying to say something now, but to no avail.
"And that cadet, is why every junior ranger should have a glass of milk with his PB and J! We don't want a repeat of the Disaster of OOvus VII!"
Qwark triumphantly placed the glass in front of Crash who happily drained it all in one sitting. Some even managed to make it into his mouth. Rivet could only watch, partly amused, partly touched, but also disgusted.
"Hey Rivet, what's up?"
She didn't need to answer Ratchet, she just kept staring at Crash.
"Oh."
"Yep."
"Kinda a mess isn't he?"
"Uh huh."
"You want me to clean him don't you?"
"Bingo."
He sighed. "Hey Crash! Come on, let's get you cleaned up."
The kid had just taken a bite out of a fruit when Ratchet called, but all the same, he hopped down from his chair and proceeded to follow Ratchet out of the room. Rivet surveyed the carnage for a moment before deciding that she was too tired to care at the moment. It had been a long roller coaster of a day and she just wanted to shower and sleep now.
The dormitories!
Rivet realized all too late that they only had that one room. She dashed after the boys but either they had been quick or she had dazed off in the mess, because they were already in the one shower unit.
How's this the officer's quarters again? Two bunks and a single shower! Stupid decontamination protocols!
She huffed and sat on the bunk, waiting for Ratchet to finish with Crash. She listened to Ratchet's disjointed discussion within the kid.
"Now Crash … just stand under the water … that's right … no … no …no not like that … that's not what I … you need to use soap … too hot … you lived in a desert … waste of water … we've got plenty … just … ow!"
This proceeded for another minute but it consisted mostly of grumbling from Ratchet. Then came the sound of the dryer. A moment passed and Rivet felt her eyelids grow heavy. Then the door finally opened, two puffballs, one big and the other small, walked in.
She didn't laugh and she wasn't snickering. Her throat had been dry and it was tickling her. That's the truth!
The kid had been wrapped up in a towel but all of his exposed fur seemed to poof out. Ratchet had not actually showered but was the victim of collateral damage and his fur similarly poofed out where it was exposed.
"Good job," she bravoed.
"Yeah, yeah. Now let's see what we can do for clothes."
Rivet passed by and proceeded with her shower. She washed the day away with all its disappointments, all of its stress, and all of its worries away. When she dried off, she took a moment to smooth out her fur in front of the mirror, because she was a lady thank you very much, and took a moment to look herself in the eye.
What you want isn't much to ask for. You've worked hard, you've sacrificed a lot, you can want this. You can want a life. Don't feel guilty.
Her end of day pep talk over, Rivet wrapped herself up and went back to the room. The kid had passed out on the other bunk. Ratchet was sitting on the other bunk, datapad in hand. He hadn't bothered to look up yet.
"Clank and Kit are on the bridge. They're using controlled bursts to slingshot us around the moon, trying to keep the ion trail sparse and that sort of thing."
He looked up then he died. Well, to put it in more accurate terms his eyes expanded by three times their size and his jaw unhinged itself. What really sold the whole being dead thing was how his body went completely stiff, like a body that had suffered sudden brain trauma locked itself up. He was completely immobile.
Rivet looked down. I'm wearing a towel, give me a break here.
"Can you get up please?"
He obliged with a straggled guttural sound. She plopped herself onto the bunk that was cut into the wall and closed the curtain, giving her a semblance of privacy while she changed. That done, she drew back the curtains to find the other Lombax staring holes into the wall.
"You doing okay?"
"What me? Never better."
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I don't know. I know how much finding the Lombaxes mean to you. I'm sorry."
"It means a lot to you too."
"Yeah, but I haven't been building this up in my head for years and years. I only just found out that they weren't all dead."
Ratchet frowned, "You still sure about that?"
"You're still here. That's all I need."
Ratchet was gazing at her with an unreadable expression, but whatever his mood, her ears flattened out in embarrassment.
"Anyway! I'm going to hit the sack. Goodnight!" She turned over and pulled the blankets over her head, willing her heart to settle. She heard Ratchet shuffle behind her, then the door opened.
"Wait! Where are you going?" She queried while turning back to him.
Ratchet gestured to the two bunks.
"There's only two bunks. I can sleep on the bridge."
"No, you can sleep here. The bunks are made for creatures three times our size, you've got room."
Ratchet glanced at the kid. "I don't want to disturb him."
"Then sleep here." She said while patting the empty space beside her. "We're both adults. We can be mature about this."
Ratchet hesitated for a brief moment before dropping onto the bunk and began undoing his boots and gloves. She watched him for a moment. He positioned himself stiffly on the very edge of the bunk, staring straight up, holding his breath.
He gasped when she threw the blanket over him. Then she rolled over and made herself comfy.
"Goodnight Ratch."
The last thing she remembered was a warm feeling in her stomach as a puff of air tickled her ears.
"Goodnight Rivet."
A/N: So here's an update. I'm trying to balance the somber and the humor. Let me know if you think it tipped over and fell flat. In any case I enjoyed this one. Next one will be a doozy though.
Be well,
Karl