Chapter 4: An Old Friend

Nundac Asteroid Ring: Apogee Space Station

Ratchet guided Aphelion into the docking bay of the station and set it down next to Talwyn's ship, Lady Wraith. Instead of his usual show-offy back flip, he tenderly descended onto the metal floor before rubbing his backside. The latest reigning champion at Destructopalooza liked to fling fireballs at its opponents. Defeating him was no sweat for the nimble Lombax, but he was unfortunate enough to take home a singed tail. It was worth the one million bolt pot. He mused. Besides, fur grew back, right? He made his way up to the living quarters of the station where he found Talwyn working on her latest project, thermal powered tools and armor. The invention would greatly improve the lives of aliens who had limited access to electricity.

"Hey Ratchet" she said without looking up from her project. "How was the-" she paused, and sniffed the air. "Why do I smell burnt fur?" she asked before spinning around. Ratchet tried to hide his tail, but of course the darn thing never did as he told it to. "Ratchet! What happened?" the markazian demanded.

"Now Tal, don't get worked up...it's not that bad. Honest." Ratchet said trying to calm her down. Her health had improved greatly over the past two months. He didn't want her to relapse. "I just got singed defeating the latest un-defeated champion. It's happened a hundred times before," he said waving off the injury. The young woman gave a huff as she accepted defeat in the argument. "Oh, by the way, the pot was a million bolts," he added, tossing her his card which the arena wired all prize money to. "How's your work on the thermal stuff going?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.

Talwyn gave him a smile as she caught the card. She knew she should never worry about her death-defying friend, but that's just the person she was. "Oh, it's coming. I'm trying to find a metal that will absorb heat, but at the same time won't absorb the energy stored in the inner proton field. I've tried creating a buffer layer of non-conductive materials, but then the efficiency drops a whopping twenty percent." she said with a sigh as she set down her tools. "But I'm close, so close. And once I finish this commission my debt will be down to 10 million." she walked over to the couch and flopped down onto it. Her companion joined her on the other side.

"Well, we still have four months, that's plenty of time." Ratchet said, trying to sound reassuring, but he would be lying if he didn't have his doubts, "By the way, has anyone called in any contracts?" he asked, referring to their mercenary work. Which unsurprisingly hadn't been all that lucrative. Most of the jobs they received Talwyn declined due to their unethical nature. The ones that didn't involve walking a fine line of legality didn't pay nearly as much. Once Ratchet accepted a job involving the smuggling of some bird eggs from a protected reserve for an eccentric billionaire. Of course, when Talwyn found out her fury dwarfed any injury he sustained in the arena. Then to top it off, she donated the money he made to the same reserve stating that she would not let her father's station be tainted. Now Ratchet stayed clear of any jobs she disapproved of, no matter how much they paid.

"Just a couple involving extra security for armored transports. Other than that no," she said rubbing her eyes.

"Well, I'll clean up and then we can plan out how we'll go about fulfilling them," Ratchet said as he left the room. Security jobs only paid around 10,000 bolts or so, but at least they were easy money. All he and Talwyn had to do was show up. But at the same time, small jobs that only paid chump change would not be enough to save Talwyn's station.

Talwyn closed her eyes and rested on the couch for a few minutes until a beep from the computer on the far wall aroused her attention. She made her way over, expecting another reminder on this month's payment, only to find a holo-message. "Origin of Sender...Krayntixx Galaxy?" she read aloud perplexed. She'd never even heard of a Krayntixx Galaxy. Why would anyone be calling her from there? All the same she played the message. She was met with a hologram of a strange person whose eyes showed a tired soul.

"This message is for Max Apogee of the Centurion Apogees. Max...the years have not been kind to me...but it is Erus. I hope that your brilliant mind has served you well in Polaris. But I must ask you to come back. Our project...has run into a problem. I need to replace my entire energy grid or else our efforts forty years ago will have been for naught. Please respond quickly."

"My father..." Talwyn whispered before she hastily sent a comm to the sender. She waited a few tense minutes until the connection was established and the same man came up on her screen.

"Max! So good to- uh wait. Who are you?" Erus asked incredulously. It was the morning after he discovered his dilemma, and when he saw that someone from the Polaris Galaxy was trying to contact him, he felt a sense of relief. But that had quickly fell away when he was met with the face of a young woman, not Max.

"I could ask you the same thing. Why are you trying to contact my father?" Talwyn asked, both excitement and dread found in her voice.

"Why I- did you say father?" Erus asked. He took a moment to study the young alien's features and realized that she would be an even better fit for his plans than her father would have. However, he would only have one chance to pique her interest and gain her trust. Scanning the room, his eyes spotted a notebook with a name scrawled on the top, feigning surprise the older alien continued, "T-talwyn? Is that you?" This brought shock to the young markazian's face.

"H-how do you know my name!?" she yelled, quickly overcoming her shock. "I demand to know how you know my father," she said, her regular fierce demeanor establishing itself.

"Please forgive me," Erus started "Your father and I were close friends long ago. He was brilliant for someone so young and together we made many advancements in technology and philosophy." he paused, clearing his throat. "He left his home nearly forty years ago after helping me with a personal project. Though he did send a picture when you were born." He gave a warm smile at the ease in which his lie formed so perfectly, which Talwyn falsely interpreted as kindness, "But that was the last I've ever heard from him." Talwyn's face softened a bit, realizing that this wasn't some old rogue coming back to settle a score. "Now child, it is imperative that I speak with your father. Is he there?" Erus asked not only to keep up his ruse but out of genuine curiosity.

"N-no. You can't." Talwyn said, her face dropping. "He disappeared several years ago. I haven't heard from him since." Erus hid his excitement well. This is too perfect. He thought before some movement in the far corner of the room caught his eye. It was then that Ratchet had re-entered the room, cleaning out his ears from his shower.

"Hey Tal, who's your friend?" he asked walking over to the computer. Erus formed a slight frown, this other alien seemed to be a friend of his colleague's daughter, which complicated things.

"Ratchet!" Talwyn said, a smile coming back to her face. She turned once more to the figure on the screen, a perplexed look on his face. "Mr...?"

"Oh please, just Erus is fine," he said amicably.

"Erus, this is Ratchet. He's a skilled engineer and has worked on almost anything you can imagine. I know that you wanted to speak with my father...but perhaps Ratchet would be better able to help you?" Talwyn asked. Ratchet raised a brow, but if Talwyn trusted this guy, well, then he'd play along.

"So…what is it?" he asked still cleaning himself, "Need a me to screw in a lightbulb or something?" he said, laughing at his own humor. Erus cleared his throat, unamused at the scruffy looking lad's joke.

"Miss Apogee, is this a secure connection?" he asked before delving any more information. Once the woman gave him a nod he continued. "Max Apogee and I created a highly sophisticated system pertinent to my research on my planet." He carefully avoided mentioning his daughter, the less they knew the better. "The generators that we installed forty years ago are no longer doing the job, and are about to completely fail. I need someone to deliver a set of new units to my home and change them out. Without, mind you, attracting the attention of those who wish to…err…steal my work" Erus finished, once again delicately avoiding any direct mention of what exactly the project or research was.

Ratchet thought for a minute on how to complete such a task, and confirmed that it was within his skill set. "Yeah, I can pull it off for ya. Though..." he said, nudging Talwyn.

"Oh, right." Talwyn said as she was pulled from thoughts of her father "Umm, Erus. I'm sure that you were hoping that Max would do this as a favor. But you see...when he disappeared, he left a large debt behind. One that I have to pay off or else I'll lose the station. Ratchet and I would be happy to help you, but we can't take the time away from earning the money unless you could...help us?" Talwyn said as politely as she could.

"Oh…right, right," Erus said, nodding his head. This is almost too easy. "I hear you Miss Apogee, we can definitely work out a solid number once you get here, but how does something around eight million sound?" Erus asked. It was a small fortune, which meant that he knew that they wouldn't be able to resist. Talwyn's eyes went wide, that would almost cover her debt! However, Ratchet asked an important question that she didn't think of.

"Eight million bolts?" he said with a skeptical face. He wasn't about to let Talwyn get cheated by some old fart who still used some ancient currency that would be worthless to them.

"Yes, yes of course. Eight million bolts, so what do you say Miss Apogee? Will you and your companion come help me?" Erus said, sure that he would be able to handle the short, fuzzy alien in front of him. He doesn't look too bright. He mused as he watched Ratchet scratch behind his ears.

Talwyn looked to Ratchet who gave a nod before replying. "We'll be there in two days Erus!" she said excitedly. Erus smiled, proud of himself that he was able to manipulate the two all too easily. He sent them coordinates to his home on Evukar before signing out. Ratchet turned to Talwyn about to ask her who their client was when he had the wind knocked out of him by one of her death-grip hugs. "Eight million bolts Ratchet!" She yelled in joy. It wasn't until she realized that she was suffocating him that she let go, allowing him to speak.

"I'm as happy as you are Talwyn, but who is this guy? And what exactly did he make that needs its own power grid?" Ratchet asked, slightly suspicious. Erus seemed polite enough, but he had the feeling that there was a lot that he wasn't telling Talwyn. His friend only rolled her eyes.

"Oh Ratchet, don't worry so much. He's just an old colleague of my father's. I'm sure their invention was created to better study organic processes without the uncontrollable variable of age. It's probably helped find cures to diseases in their galaxy...or something" she said, thinking back to her father's ideals and what he might have used the machine for. "Besides, I'll get to learn more about my father! I mean, I never did know what he did before he came to Polaris and raised me." Talwyn added. "He never really talked about it."

Ratchet gave a soft smile, knowing exactly how Talwyn felt, but he was still concerned all the same. "All I'm saying is that there's a lot to the situation that we don't know. Perhaps it's best if I go on this one alone," he suggested, afraid that Talwyn was letting her emotions cloud her usually clear judgment. However, he was met with an instantly furious markazian. "I just think that you're letting your emotions get in the way Talwyn. I mean, this guy lives in a galaxy that we've never heard of, on a planet we don't know? Doesn't that at all make you cautious?" he asked, hoping to reason with her.

"I don't care Ratchet!" Talwyn yelled. "This is a chance to be close to my father again. And I'm sure that wherever he is, he would want me to help his friend," she added, alluding to the fact that she still thought that Max was alive.

"Tal..." Ratchet started, taking her hand. "I know how you feel. I felt the same way when I met Azimuth...but...sometimes you just have to accept the way things are and look towards the people that you have now." he finished. Talwyn looked down, thinking. "Come on, be reasonable. It's far too dangerous for you. So, stay here, please?" Ratchet pleaded. However, Talwyn snatched her hand out of his grip.

"You said that once I was better you'd let me take care of myself," she said through gritted teeth. "That was the deal, right?" she said, her voice raising.

"Yeah but-"

"I would think that you of all people would understand why I have to do this Ratchet. But yet you still just treat me like a helpless child!" Talwyn yelled, her face turning red. Ratchet reached out towards her, but she backed away. "Get out. I'll take this mission alone. This is why I didn't ask for your help in the first place because I knew that it would come to this." She said accusingly, gesturing to the space between them and the argument they were having.

"Talwyn hold up now." the now nervous lombax said. He surely didn't want her to fly off alone to places unknown. "You owe it to your father, Cronk, and Zephyr to take care of yourself. They all sacrificed their lives to protect you. Are you really going to let that all be in vain!?" he yelled, but then quickly covered his mouth, regretting the words as soon as they were said. "Tal...I-I didn't mea-"

"GET. OUT!" Talwyn screamed. "How dare you Ratchet! Go back home to Solana and find yourself some helpless girl that you can use to boost your ego. But I'll be damned if I let you treat me this way!" she yelled before stomping out of the room. Ratchet wanted to follow her, to apologize. But the young woman had activated the security system which chased him back to his ship. He reluctantly left, but swore to himself that he wasn't going to give up on her.

Talwyn flopped on her bed in her room, and grabbed a picture of Cronk, Zephyr, and herself. It was taken on the first birthday she had after her father disappeared. Cronk made a special order to Luminopolis for her birthday cake. Zephyr put on some paint and did a clown gig...even though she was already well into her teens. But a good time was had by all. They did all they could to keep her safe and happy over the years. Even humored her desperate cling to the hope that her father was still alive. And now they were gone too.

Talwyn sighed, and then she cried. She cried for her father, whom dead or alive she was certain she'll never see again. Cried for Cronk and Zephyr who she should have watched out for instead of letting them always watch out for her. And then she cried for herself, because she let herself get into this situation. One in which she had become dependent on people like Ratchet who had a hero complex. She didn't mean to be so mean to him...but she wasn't about to let him take all the risk and get killed over it. No, that was one mistake that she wouldn't make again. She turned over and wrapped her blankets around her, before falling into a fitful sleep.