Dogfight on Kerwan

Despite the urgency of the situation and his continuing worry about his lie to Clank, Ratchet couldn't help but admire Aleero City as they broke atmosphere. The city was a marvel of elaborate architecture, with skyscrapers as far as any eye, organic or robotic, could see. In fact, the city reached so high above Kerwan's actual surface that most of it sat above the clouds. The sun's light sparkled off glistening bronze spires and large green windows. Speaking of green, there was vegetation everywhere, the plants, grass and moss so well-integrated into the landscape, that it actually complemented the city, rather than detracting from it. Atop a lot of buildings were billboards, advertising everything from weapons to household items to vehicles to even clothes; all courtesy of Gadgetron.

Ratchet was so wowed by the sight that he almost collided with sky traffic running through the city.

"Watch it, maniac!" the driver shouted.

"Sorry!" Ratchet called, as he steered the ship into one of Kerwan's many skyways.

"I would advise keeping your eyes on the wheel, Ratchet," Clank advised. "We will be of no use to the Rangers if we get ourselves disintegrated."

"Sorry," Ratchet apologised again. "It's just… I've seen it in videos, but nothing beats seeing it up close. When you spend your whole life on a desert planet, well…" His voice trailed off.

As they approached their destination - the Hall of Heroes on Aleero Street - the sound of gunfire reached their ears, or audio receptors in the case of Clank.

"No way…" Ratchet breathed.

The courtyard outside the Hall of Heroes had become a shooting gallery. Shoots were flying in all directions, while several ships swooped overhead.

"Oh, no, the attack has begun!" Clank exclaimed. "We are too late!"

"Scan the emergency channels!" Ratchet advised. "We need to know what's happening on the ground!"

"Right!" Clank activated the ship's radio, and began tuning it to local channels. Soon, they heard the voice of Cora Veralux.

'Attention all units! The Hall of Heroes is under attack! Repeat, enemy ships are now in the central district of Metropolis! The Galactic Rangers are under heavy fire at the Hall of Heroes! And there's a Blarg Transport closing in fast! Brace for Warbot reinforcements, Rangers!'

'Copy that, Lieutenant Veralux!' a high-pitched robotic voice said in response; one of the robots that assisted the Rangers.

In the Courtyard, the heavily-armoured Ranger bots were bearing the brunt of the laser fire. Qwark sprang towards a nearby Warbot, his red and yellow blaster in hand. He took aim and fired, blasting the Warbot chassis apart.

"Taste the heated justice of my blaster, hombre," Qwark smirked. He then turned to two bots behind him. "How was that? Did that sound cool?"

"Brilliant, sir!" the two bots replied in unison, only for one to be cut down by a laser shot.

Brax Lectrus, meanwhile, seized another Warbot by the leg and swung bodily through the air. The Warbot flew smack into a group of its fellows, knocking them over like skittles. Cora ran forward and slapped two Bombs onto the first Warbot's chest, and then leapt just before BOOM! Pieces of armour showered from the sky.

Helga was also going up close and personal, weaving and dodging around attacks with surprising fluidity for a female of her, ahem, stature (don't tell her I wrote that).

"Hi-ya!" she yelled, kicking a Warbot in the chest, before ducking under another laser shot and punching another in the chassis repeatedly, causing it to cave rapidly, and then, doing a flying kick into a group of Warbots. "You pansies vill be zo zorry you came here!"

Back up in the air, Clank was thinking desperately on what to do.

"We must assist the Galactic Rangers," Clank stated. "Perhaps we could take out those Blargian transports. But how?"

"How about we use this ship's built-in weapons systems?" Ratchet suggested.

"You installed weapons?"

"Well, why not? All the best ships have them!"

"Very well, then. Activating weapons system."

'Weapons system online,' announced the on-board computer. 'You may now attack the transports.'

"Time to show that meat-head that I have what it takes!" Ratchet grinned, and he pressed a button on the control yoke. The Skyhopper opened fire on the Blarg transports. One exploded instantly, and the remains tumbled down.

"Enemy down!" Ratchet grinned.

The other transport ships quickly realised they were being attacked; though initially caught off-guard, they quickly began turning their shots towards the Skyhopper. Ratchet easily rolled the ship over to avoid the first wave. This surprised Clank; for a split-second, his sense of direction was completely inverted. Then, the ship was upright again.

"A little warning next time, Ratchet," Clank advised, shaking his head.

"It's not my fault you weren't prepared," the feline jibbed, as he fired again. Another Blarg crashed down.

'Captain, we have an unidentified ship providing assistance!' Cora's voice said over the emergency channel.

Ratchet grinned, although Clank noted the fact that Cora hadn't recognised his Lombax companion.

The next Blarg transport shot homing missiles at the Skyhopper.

"Uh oh!" Clank cried.

"I've got this!" Ratchet announced. With surprising speed, he turned the Skyhopper up, over and flat again, before firing on the two missiles, destroying them.

"Yeah!" he cried, zooming through the dust cloud.

"That… was… crazy, Ratchet!" Clank cried.

"But effective," Ratchet winked. The offending transport ship flew low between the buildings, perhaps hoping Ratchet wouldn't dare fire for fear of collateral damage. Ratchet pursued, and, deciding to leave minimal debris, launched two missiles. They followed the transport, which was unable to evade them without flying up. Just before the missiles made contact, Ratchet fired his cannons, hitting the transport just as the missiles found their mark. The explosion shattered a few windows, and blew chunks from adjacent buildings, but otherwise, not too much damage was done.

'He's taken out another ship, Captain!' Cora noted.

'Whoever's doing heroic things up there; clear off - this is our turf!' Qwark insisted.

'Err, no offence, Captain,' said one of the robot Rangers, 'but we kinda need the help right now! Besides, Ah think he's doing awesome!'

'Shut up, H-22! You're on clean-up duty!'

'Aww, man!'

Ratchet chuckled. "How's that for weak and inexperienced?" he sneered.

On the ground, Victor Von Ion was using patience with how the battle was going. He grabbed one of the nearby Warbots. "Bring me the Captain's head," he growled, "or I'll take yours as a replacement!"

Tossing the Warbot aside, Victor advanced forward, slashing through the Ranger robots with the energy blades that extended from his forearms. One was sent flying out of the courtyard and into the abyss below. His companion cried, "Wilhelm!"

Ratchet turned the Skyhopper down to take aim at another Blarg transport ship. The transport ship attempted evasive action, but it was too large to effectively pull it off. Its engines smoking, it crashed onto a thankfully empty footpath.

'Alright, there should be one more left,' Cora noted.

The last ship swooped over the Hall of Heroes, with Ratchet in hot pursuit. But when the Lombax pressed the button to open fire, nothing happened.

"Something is wrong," Clank observed.

"Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious," Ratchet snorted. "Weapon system must've jammed. Here, take the wheel for a sec, while I patch things up!" And undoing his seatbelt, he darted under the dashboard.

Clank was a little apprehensive. "Oh… I, umm…" He climbed across to take the controls, but due to his short stature, he could barely see over the dashboard.

As Ratchet tried to reroute wires to get the weapons online again, the ship shuddered violently, and he bumped his head on the underside of the control.

"Ow! Yeah, what's going on up there?" he demanded.

"Well, unfortunately," Clank replied, rather anxiously, trying and failing to avoid hitting any buildings, "my piloting skills are, shall we say, slightly underdeveloped."

"Yeah, definitely agree on that," Ratchet agreed, as he knocked his head again. "Just try to keep it steady, okay?"

Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, Clank accidentally turned the Skyhopper towards the last Blargian transport in a collision course. The pilot of the transport panicked and swerved his ship away to avoid a crash. Alas for him, he didn't realise until too late that he was heading straight for a rock hard arch. The last transport exploded in a shower of pieces and smoke, just as Ratchet climbed back up from under the dashboard.

"Hey, nice flying there, pal," Ratchet congratulated Clank, as he took the controls back.

Clank smiled, or at least, he gave his best impression of a smile, since his mouthplate didn't curve up or down.

'Thanks, guys,' Cora complimented. 'Looks you got all of them. But we still have to take out that warship.'

'Und ve still have to deal vith zese varbots!' Helga added.

"Hmm," Clank thought, tapping his chin. "Those warbots' armour is made of an adamantine alloy, similar to my own. If we can propel the warbots at the warship with sufficient velocity, it should penetrate the hull."

Ratchet looked at Clank in admiration. "Awesome! We can use the Mag-Booster. Cost me a fortune to get it; thought Mr Micron would like it, but…" He bit his lip. "It wasn't pleasant; moved it onto mine, instead. No point in letting it go to waste!"

"I am rewriting the software to isolate the Warbots' armour."

"But... won't it affect you as well, Clank?" Ratchet inquired, rather apprehensively as he brought the ship back around towards the Hall of Heroes.

"As long as you do not open the cockpit, Ratchet, I shall be fine," Clank assured him.

"Okay." Ratchet was still a little concerned, but he held his tongue. They had to save the Rangers.

The Rangers were now surrounded. Some of the robot Rangers had thrown down their weapons, and raised their hands in surrender.

"Any last words, Galactic Losers?" Victor Von Ion taunted.

"Erm... I can give you a special Gadgetron discount if you retreat," Qwark offered.

"I knew you'd say that," Victor purred, advancing on Qwark.

Ratchet was getting frantic. Clank was still working on the Mag-Booster.

"Come on, come on!" he demanded.

"I am almost there, Ratchet! Be patient! Executing command, and… engage Mag-Booster!"

Ratchet, grinning, flipped the switch, and the Mag Booster on top of the Skyhopper hummed into life.

"Please work," Ratchet prayed. "Please work."

Suddenly, Clank was plucked from his seat, and would have been pulled to the ceiling but for his seatbelt.

"Yes, it is working."

The Skyhopper swooped over the courtyard. As it did so, all the Warbots were suddenly swept off their feet and pulled into the air, after the Skyhopper. The Rangers and citizens all watched in amazement as the entire squadron of Warbots flew upwards, towards the Blarg warship.

"Yeah!" Ratchet exclaimed gleefully.

"Oh yes," Clank agreed.

The citizens cheered in amazement as the entire army of Warbots rose into the air after the Skyhopper.

"There are 300 heavily-armed Warbots gaining on us!" Clank fretted.

"I know! Isn't it great?!" Ratchet rhapsodised. His nerves had completely left him again; he was feeling it so much, he thought his heart would burst.

"Get ready to return to sender!" Ratchet grinned, as he neared the warship. "Terminating Mag-Booster on my mark! 3… 2… 1… mark!"

Deactivating the Mag Booster, he brought the ship into an Immelmann turn, leaving the Warbots to crash into the Warship in a virtual deluge of adamantine. The ship's hull burst open, and it exploded in a cloud of dust and ash that could be seen from across the city. On the ground, Victor was fuming.

"No, NO!"

Everyone gazed up, worried that the citizen ship that had saved them might have been caught in the explosion. But they needn't have worried. The Skyhopper emerged, slightly blackened but nonetheless unscathed.

Ratchet brought the Skyhooper in to land in the Hall of Heroes' courtyard. Taking advantage of the crowd's distraction, and cursing furiously, Victor turned and fled to commandeer a taxi, throwing the driver out.

Citizens and Rangers waved and shouted, cheering them as Ratchet opened the cockpit. The young Lombax gazed at all the smiling faces; and he could tell that if the robot Rangers had actual faces, they'd have been smiling too. A remarkable feeling rose in Ratchet that he'd never felt before; the feeling of accomplishment.

Qwark suddenly appeared in front of him and Clank.

"All right, everyone, let's give these heroes some breathing room," he announced, asserting control as he always did with public statements. "I'm happy to field all questions on their behalf." He quickly glanced back at Ratchet. "Never thought I'd see you again…" he hissed.

"How's that for 'not having what it takes'?" Ratchet retorted quietly.

A female robot with glowing blue eyes, thick black hair and a pink dress came forward. Of everyone in the crowd, she, remarkably, seemed the only one that was unperturbed by the recent events. "Darla Gratch of Channel 64 News here," she droned. "Do you believe the re-emergence of the Blarg could be linked to the destroyed planets?"

Qwark shrugged. "I think that's being a little alarmist, Darla; we have confirmed nothing as of yet."

"Begging your pardon Captain," Clank spoke up, "but Drek is responsible. He has already made a move on Novalis, and this attack proves he is just getting started." Qwark just rolled his eyes and made a hand puppet as Clank spoke.

Panicked sounds swept through the crowd. Some were likely wondering, could Kerwan be next?

"Now, now," Qwark hastened to say, "let's not panic... yet. The Rangers have everything under control."

"Does this mean this... this... feline, and this robot, will be joining the Galactic Rangers?" Darla asked.

Ratchet's heart leapt. This was his chance.

"Say what now?" Qwark asked.

On Veldin, Grim, who was having breakfast while watching the news, froze, a spoon of cereal halfway to his mouth, as he properly realised who was on the holo-vid.

"Say what now?" he croaked. He'd assumed Ratchet had taken his new ship out for a spin, from a note the Lombax had left.

Qwark seemed to be deliberately stalling for time, unsure of what to say. Ratchet found himself crossing most of his fingers in anticipation of Qwark's answer. 'Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes!'

"I... don't see why not," Qwark shrugged finally.

Ratchet's heart seemed to explode with pleasure, as Qwark hoisted both him and Clank into the air.

'I must be in Heaven!' he thought ecstatically.

Grim dropped his spoon in shock.

Drek's Warship

"How did this happen?" Drek demanded of Nefarious and Victor, in a low dangerous voice. An image of Ratchet and Clank was on the screen of his office, where he called a meeting.

Drek was in a terrible mood. Not only that Victor came with bad news, telling him the attack had been a failure, but his troops from Novalis had called to inform him that Mayor Buckwash had survived and escaped. Both incidents involved this… this… cat-thingy, whatever he was! Frankly, Nefarious and Victor were lucky to be alive right now!

"You!" Drek pointed at Nefarious. "You're supposed to know how they think! How could you not have seen this coming?!"

Nefarious scowled; why did Drek always blame him when things weren't wrong?! "I'm not psychic, you know, Alonzo!"

"'Chairman', if you don't mind," Drek reminded him testily. "And Victor… oooh!" Drek growled low in his throat. "Do you know how many candidates you beat out for your position?! I could've hired the Zeezils Brothers! It's enough to make me want to vaporize someone!"

Zed, Drek's small robot assistant, had just entered the room to give Drek a report, but the moment his boss said 'vaporize', he wisely turned around and hovered back out again. He knew that it was discretion was the best policy when Drek was angry.

Drek took a few deep breathes to calm himself. "Still, we have our man on the inside, so we should still be one step ahead of them. Even so, I'm ordering all remaining Warbots to the Deplanetizer! I'm not taking any more chances, what with this… this… whatever he is!"

"Hmm, I think he's a Lombax," Nefarious offered, looking at the picture of Ratchet on the screen above Drek.

"How do you know that?" Drek asked, slightly puzzled.

"I know my species, Chairman," Nefarious replied dismissively. "Anyway, as far as I know, there are no other Lombaxes out there. He must be feeling pretty lonely."

This got Drek thinking. Then, a cruel smile slowly spread across his face. "Hmm, I think you might have something there, Nefarious. Perhaps we can turn the Rangers' saviour into their doom! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha…"