Double-Crossed Stations
The Phoenix, en route to the Blarg Research Station
"Okay, Clank," said Elaris, as she plugged a cable into Clank's access port. "Let's have a look at this diary then, shall we?"
The Rangers were gathered in the Phoenix's bridge
"Of course, of course," Clank replied, rather absently. He kept sneaking looks at Qwark out of the corners of his optics, hoping no one noticed.
Most of the Rangers didn't notice. They were too busy recounting their experiences in Drek's factory to cameras linked to the Galactic Network, while recorded footage from their helmet cams was replayed next to them via picture-in-picture.
Brax was recounting his destruction of the Assembly Hall in Drek's factory with his usual bravado.
"Those Agents of Doom never stood a chance against me," he bragged. "Honestly, I kinda wish Drek had been manufacturing those instead; give me more of a challenge."
"Well, Ah don't," stated a GRU firmly.
Helga was wondering what they could've done to make it more awesome.
"Perhaps if ve had taken ze front entrance, ve could've taken down ze factory before zose little Schädlinge showed up…"
"Oh, stop being such a killjoy, Helga," Cora admonished calmly as she polished her Protosuit to clean off any dirt or oil she had accumulated during the firefights. "We came, we saw, we got the info we needed and we trashed the joint," she informed the camera. "No need for anything else."
"Never thought I'd say this, but Cora's right," concurred Ratchet, who was lounging in a chair at his ease, his feet resting on a console. "Take your victories where you get them, lady."
'I hope the whole galaxy is watching me,' he thought.
"Huh, I take my victories vith a grain of zalt," Helga huffed.
"Please put your feet down, Ratchet," Elaris advised. "I'm not cleaning the consoles because you guys got them dirty."
Ratchet rolled his eyes as he brought his feet back down. "Guess Helga isn't the only spoilsport around here," he muttered.
"You okay, Clank?" Elaris asked, turning back to the small robot. "You seem quiet."
Clank glanced towards the other Rangers to make sure no one was too close.
"I am… growing suspicious about Captain Qwark's actions as of late," he admitted quietly. "Remember when you voiced your concerns to me? Well, when we were interrogating Zed, he started to say something about Captain Qwark, until Qwark cut him off; rather hastily, I might add." He paused. "Do you think we should tell the others?"
Elaris' gaze dipped and she let out a deep sigh. "I… I want to, Clank. But… I'm afraid."
"Of what?"
"Of potentially dividing the team… and demoralising the galaxy… the people put a lot of faith in Qwark. I… I don't want to weaken public morale, based on guesses and hunches. We need concrete evidence."
"Should we not try looking for such evidence, then?" proposed Clank.
"No, the others might notice and want to know why."
Clank tapped his mouth-plate for a few moments, thinking. "Hmm… if you are concerned about driving a wedge between the Rangers, perhaps I could…" He leaned closer to Elaris to whisper in her ear.
Elaris nodded. "Sounds like a plan, Clank."
"Hey, what are you two nerds gossiping about?" Qwark asked.
"We were-"
"Actually, never mind, I don't care. You got Drek's diary uploaded yet?"
Elaris checked the computer. 'Upload complete' blared on the screen. "Affirmative, Qwark."
"Excellent. Well then, let me see what entries may be useful to us…" Qwark leaned forward over the Ceratos' shoulder. The other Rangers turned to watch eagerly as Elaris selected the first diary entry and opened it.
Without warning, the word 'ENCRYPTED' appeared on the screen, followed by 'KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE'S DIARIES, RANGERS!'
"Strange," Clank commented. "I detected no hint of encryption when I found the diary."
"Perhaps the diary's reacting to being opened on a different computer," Qwark suggested. "You know, maybe it's designed to only recognise Drek's database. Yeah, that's probably it."
"That would make sense," Brax agreed with a shrug.
"I don't believe it," Ratchet groaned. "We downloaded that diary for nothing!"
"Zat sneaky little devil!" Helga fumed. "He got us again!"
"Don't be so sure," Cora interjected. "Elaris can find a way to decrypt it, can't you, Lara?"
"That's a rhetorical question, I hope," Elaris replied. "But…" She regarded the encrypted files on-screen. "It may take two days, fifteen hours and twenty-four minutes… at most."
Qwark shrugged. "By that time, we should've captured Drek and shut down his operations completely. So I don't think it matters."
Clank frowned. "I still think it is worth looking into, Captain. We need to find out Drek's motivations, how he orchestrated his plans, and-"
"Yeah, sure, whatever," Qwark dismissed. "Just do it on your own time. Right now, we have a space station to storm, right, Rangers?"
"Right!" the others chanted in consent.
"We'll… be dropping out of warp shortly," Elaris informed. "You guys might want to hang back to the Hangar to prepare."
"You got it, Lara," Cora acknowledged.
"Captain Qwark," Clank added, "We request you stay here with us until we arrive."
"Hmm, sure, whatever," Qwark replied nonchalantly.
As the other Rangers made their way towards the transporter that would take them back towards the hanger, Clank and Elaris cast sideways looks at Qwark. His guess about how the files worked seemed good a guess for someone with as limited an understanding of computers as him.
Both resolved to keep an eye on the Captain as best they could; just in case…
Blarg Tactical Research Station, Nebula G34
Asteroids are a menace on the space ways. These big hunks of rock drift around aimlessly, not caring where they go or who they inconvenience. But if one has the right technology at their disposal, asteroids cannot only be tolerated, but outright made to benefit you.
The Blarg Tactical Research Station or 'BTS' for short (why it isn't 'BTRS', I'll never know) had been built within a small asteroid field, with several of said hunks of rock having been converted into testing rooms for the station. All of these facilities were connected by some kind of glass tube that snaked between them. To prevent any remaining asteroids from colliding with the station, drones swarmed around ready to carefully guide asteroids away from the station should they stray too close.
As the Phoenix dropped out of warp just beyond the belt, Elaris, Clank and Qwark could see the Deplanetizer hovering nearby.
"Yes!" cheered Qwark. "We've caught up! Elaris, keep the ship at a distance and await my orders."
Clank was trying to tap the local radio frequencies, hoping to pick up something from Drek or one of his henchmen. But all he received was static.
"That is strange," he commented. "It seems that Chairman Drek has raised some kind of electromagnetic field around the area. That will mean that we cannot maintain contact with you, Elaris, once we infiltrate."
"That won't be a problem," Qwark assured. "If we could take Drek's factory without Elaris' aid, I don't think we'll have a problem here."
"All the same," Clank ventured, "perhaps we should look into disabling that field. That way, if anything goes wrong, we can call for back-up."
"No, that would take too long," Qwark dismissed. "Besides, Drek might be expecting that. I think we should just go directly for Drek himself."
Clank shook his head in exasperation. "Well, if that is the plan, I would at least feel more secure if we stick together during the infiltration. I believe there is such thing as strength in numbers, and we Rangers need to watch each other's backs."
Qwark raised an eyebrow at this. "Hmmm, your concern is touching, Clank. But if you remember, we managed to take Drek's war factory when separated."
"This is a different scenario, Captain," Clank countered. "There are sure to be more guards stationed here."
"Captain, I realise how unlikely you are to heed our advice," Elaris chimed in, "but I agree with Clank. You're going to need all the firepower you can get to successfully capture Drek, Victor and Nefarious."
Qwark tapped a finger on his massive chin for a few moments. "Very well," he conceded.
Clank and Elaris were taken aback. "You… are heeding our advice?" Elaris recognised.
"Yes, yes, I am," Qwark acknowledged. "I've come to realise that perhaps I've been taking you for granted, Lara. Maybe once this is over, we should discuss about how often we, ahem, 'heed your advice.'"
"That's great," Elaris commented, "because I was just thinking that possibly, we could…"
"I did say 'once this is over'," Qwark reminded. "Save it for later."
Elaris frowned, clenching her fist briefly. "Should've seen that coming…"
Clank turned to her. "Elaris, if you want to help, be mindful for any ships leaving the area. Drek might try to escape, so be on the lookout."
Elaris nodded. "You got it, Clank."
The Rangers and the GRUs selected to accompany them were just completing their gear-up for the assault on the station when the transporter arrived with Qwark and Clank in tow.
"Okay, Rangers, this is our big moment," Qwark declared. "Perhaps the biggest in our long, long history!"
"Ah don't think we've been active that long," a GRU commented.
"Zip it, I-9!" Qwark ordered. "Ahem, anyway, this is our chance to capture that nefarious Blarg and his crazy stooge… erm… Doctor Nefarious. Admittedly, there is a very high risk of death, torture and capture…"
"Err, shouldn't it be 'capture, torture and death'?" noted the same GRU as before.
"I said zip it!" Qwark snapped. "But if we stick together during this mission, I just know that within half an hour, we'll be blasting our way out of that station with Drek and Nefarious in tow and the Deplanetizer exploding behind us, for dramatic effect."
"Sweet!" Brax grinned.
"I can taste ze victory already!" Helga rhapsodized.
"We're ready when you are, Captain!" Cora declared.
Ratchet summoned his Ion Blaster and twirled it confidently. Maybe this could be the attention that could finally make him truly known across the galaxy. Surely, at least a few Lombaxes would catch wind of his deeds. Ratchet was so busy fantasizing this pleasant scenario, that he didn't immediately register the Blaster slipping off his index finger and falling to the floor. A shot went off, narrowly missing Qwark's foot.
Ratchet flushed red as he scrambled to pick up his Blaster, fully aware of the other Rangers staring or glaring at him.
"This kid's gonna be the end of us," Cora groaned.
"Or maybe just you," mumbled Ratchet under his voice.
Qwark brushed down his front, as if nothing had happened. "Before we head off, I must relieve myself. After all, one must always save the galaxy with clean underwear." And he strode away towards one of the corridors that led off the hangar.
Clank turned his optics after Qwark. The small robot made to follow him, but Ratchet grabbed his shoulder.
"Where ya going, Clank?"
"Erm, I was just thinking of keeping an eye on Captain Qwark," Clank replied.
"Why?" Ratchet questioned. "We're still on the Phoenix. Qwark doesn't need watching; especially if he's relieving himself."
"I am not sure if he is just 'relieving himself', whatever that is," Clank countered.
"What else could he be doing?" Ratchet chortled.
Clank hesitated. He wanted to confide Ratchet his concerns about Qwark. But then, would the Lombax actually believe him? Could Ratchet be trusted to take his word seriously? After all, Ratchet hadn't been wholly honest with him about his connection with the Rangers.
Perhaps Clank could give some truth.
"Something that might potentially jeopardise the mission," Clank replied. "I mean… given his tendency to ignore advice from me and Elaris, I am concerned that he may somehow commit an act that could seriously cripple our effectiveness."
Ratchet gazed at Clank for a few moments.
"Are you serious?" the Lombax wondered. "Qwark, jeopardise the mission? Listen, he might not be the brightest bulb in the shed…"
"That is putting it mildly," Clank mumbled.
"…but he's still a noble hero," Ratchet continued. "He could never betray us!"
Qwark hadn't been lying about needing the lavatory, but as you might have guessed by now, he had indeed betrayed the team. Why? You'd find out in due course.
Anyway, he was casually passing Zed's cell. The little butler bot was lounging as the Captain approached.
"Ah, Captain," he greeted. "I trust you remember what you have to-"
"Shush!" hissed Qwark urgently. He made a zipping motion and then pounded a fist into his palm. Zed got the point and said no more as Qwark edged past. He then briefly darted back, which made Zed cry "Not the face!" and made the 'I'm-watching-you' gesture before moving on.
"Captain Qwark moves into position," Qwark narrated dramatically as he approached a console set into the wall. He located the access port and plugged in his personal chip.
The console came to life with a soft, ethereal, almost ominous sound, like crashing waves. Qwark panicked. The sound might give him away! Hastily, he turned the volume down to mute.
'Really, Elaris,' he thought. 'Having the computer sound like a game console when you turn it on. No wonder you and Nefarious got on so well…'
Soon, the Phoenix's weapons schematics appeared on the screen, outlined in blue.
"Cleverly, he deactivates the Phoenix's weapons system," Qwark continued in a whisper, typing at the keyboard. A moment later, the schematics changed from blue to red. "And then, he makes sure no one can easily reactivate them…" He typed in a few more codes to encrypt. "And the crowd goes wild!" Qwark finished as he withdrew his access chip, imitating cheers. "'Yeah! Yeah! Qwark is the best! Yeah!'"
There was a sudden gasp from behind him. Qwark whipped around. Elaris was standing a short distance, her hands over her mouth. She hadn't meant to gasp and give herself away while shadowing Qwark. But it was too late now.
The Ceratos summoned her Ion Blaster and trained it on Qwark. "Okay, Qwark, hands where I can see them!"
Qwark hesitantly raised his hands. "Now, Elaris, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation-"
"Oh, I'm sure there is," Elaris replied dryly. "You've betrayed us, Qwark! You've sided with Drek! That explains a lot!" She raised her wrist-com to alert the other Rangers.
Out of desperation, Qwark darted forward, though moving to the side to avoid any shots. Elaris was a good shot, but she was no Cora or Brax or Ratchet. Her shot missed, but Qwark didn't. He tackled Elaris to the floor. The moment the Ceratos' head struck the hard metal, she blacked out.
"Sorry, Elaris," Qwark muttered as he gathered up the Rangers' tactical officer/janitor. "Can't have you blowing my plan now."
After bounding and gagging Elaris, Qwark shoved her into the nearest closet. "You should feel at home in here," he commented as he closed the door.
'Captain, I don't mean to rush you,' came Cora's voice over the comm., 'but we need to get going.'
"Alright, Cora, I'm coming," Qwark replied. "Just… taking Elaris to her room. She's not feeling well right now."
'Is she alright?'
"Yeah, yeah, she's fine; just needs a lie-down. Tell the GRUs she doesn't wish to be disturbed."
'Okay, sir.'
The landing bay of the BTS was a large, spacious room with a massive reinforced floor-to-ceiling window spanning one wall that gave the Rangers an amazing view across the entire station. At either end of the room was a doorway that appeared to be sealed off with laser fields. The bulkheads around said doors looked to be reinforced like the observation window. At first glance, these might be in place to prevent the Rangers from getting into the station. And yet, the reinforcements seemed to be focused more on the inside than out.
Clank had expected to hear the sound of experimentation going on, like how he'd heard in the commercial, or else, footsteps of approaching guards. But the landing bay was quiet as the grave, just like how Drek's factory had been. This seriously put his sprockets on edge.
"I do not like this," he mumbled, noting the echo of his voice around the room as the Rangers and the GRUs selected to accompany them disembarked from their transport, Qwark in the lead. "I believe I am justified to imply Drek is luring us into a trap once again."
"Well, if you remember, Clank," Cora reminded, "we handled ourselves pretty well, all things considered. This time, we're sticking together and we're prepared."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Cora," Ratchet added, as he made his way over to a nearby Gadgetron vendor. "You worry too much, Clank. We got this."
"That is not very reassuring," Clank replied.
Ratchet just rolled his eyes as he activated the vendor.
The latest weapon available was what looked like some kind of megaphone - mostly dark silver with a red lining around the horn and tubes extending from the top of the amplifier. The vendor classified it as 'the Taunter'.
"That looks neat," Ratchet mused. "I think I'll have that." And he did; for 2,500 bolts.
'The Taunter,' droned the Helper Desk. 'Designed to make comedic sound effects that draw enemies' attention. One can also use the speaker to give their own taunts in a silly voice. Useful for luring enemies into traps, breaking objects and obstacles, and for teasing whose have wronged you in the past.'
Ratchet twirled the Taunter with a grin. 'This should make things more amusing' he thought. He made a mental note to use it on Cora when he felt it would be most effective.
"Okay, Rangers," Qwark declared, "we all know what we must do. Let's move out! Follow me!" And the Captain made his way towards the passageway on the right-hand side of the observation window.
'Erm, sir,' ventured one of the GRUs, as the team followed, 'how do you know which way to go?'
"I'm Captain Qwark," he replied grandly. "I always know where to go!"
Clank 'hmmed' to himself but said nothing.
The team entered a winding corridor that was mostly green interspersed with grey ringed protrusions. Wires hung from these protrusions in odd places. The station seemed to have been rather neglected as of late.
A hissing noise ahead forewarned them of gas being sprayed into the corridor via some kind of gas spray guns.
"That cannot be safe," Clank commented.
"I think the little guy has a point," Brax agreed. "Captain, reckon we should seal our suits?"
"Yes," Qwark agreed, pressing his aerial to deploy his own helmet.
Ratchet pressed a button on the side of his helmet. A soft pneumatic hiss told him his suit was now sealed. As they continued onward through the streams of gas, a reading on Ratchet's HUD confirmed Clank's worries - the gas was a strong irritant that, if inhaled, would cause severe lung damage.
"Hmm, not what I asked for," Qwark mumbled.
"Vot'd you mean, Captain?" wondered Helga.
"Erm, I was h-hoping for a greater challenge," Qwark stuttered. "Maybe some poisonous gas or something - nothing tests a hero's mettle like the prospect of death, am I right?"
"I agree with that in principle," Cora acknowledged, "but we shouldn't tempt Drek. Who knows what tricks he might throw at us?"
Unbeknown to Cora, Chairman Drek, Doctor Nefarious and Lawrence were listening in on the Rangers.
"Indeed, who knows what tricks I can throw out?" Drek grinned. "Nefarious, I think some of our little experiments would like to say hello. But don't give them anything too tough - our pet is hungry, after all. It requires a feast! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, indeed!" Nefarious agreed.
"You two could die at the face of death," Lawrence commented dryly, programming orders into his handheld.
Ratchet saw a Blarg sentry standing beyond a laser gate on the other side of the wider room the corridor had led to. At the moment, his back was turned to them. Ratchet had an idea.
"Hey guys," he proposed in a whisper, "hide on either side of the door. I'll lure that sentry towards us." He produced the Taunter to illustrate his point.
"Hmm, I like this idea," Brax grinned as he, Cora and Helga stationed themselves ready.
Ratchet raised the Taunter and pulled the trigger. A whistle - the kind of whistle one might use to get the attention of a person or pet - reverberated out of the speaker. Despite the open space of the room, the sound was loud enough to rattle Clank's plating.
The Blarg sentry whirled round. He saw Ratchet with the Taunter in hand and a mocking smirk on his face.
Snarling, the sentry deactivated the laser gate and advanced on Ratchet with a flamethrower at the ready. Before he could fire, however, he was gunned down by Cora, Brax and Helga all at once.
"This should be a cinch," Cora grinned.
At that moment, hatches in the ceiling of the corridors in front and behind the Rangers opened. Several small creatures came swarming out. They had green-brown skin adorned with dark brown spot and black spikes. Their faces were Blargian in shape and they had legs similar to the Horned Toads that annoyed Ratchet and Grim on Veldin. And sure enough, they even hopped about like the Horned Toads, some managing to crawl along the walls as they advanced on the Rangers.
"ARGH! Monsters!" wailed a GRU in terror as he scurried away from the creatures.
"You were saying?" Ratchet teased Cora, summoning his Pyrocitor.
Cora just cuffed Ratchet over the helmet as she summoned her Ion Blaster.
"Be careful, everyone," Clank advised. "Given the confined space, it is very likely we will end up in each other's line of fire."
"Don't worry, little guy," Brax assured, even as he opened fire with his Blaster. "We're used to this sort of thing. Besides, our armour can take it."
In seconds, the Rangers had divided themselves, with half the group (including Ratchet) shooting ahead of them and the other firing to the rear. The GRU who had freaked out, L-13, however, was cowering behind his comrades.
Ratchet was streaming fire everywhere he could. This should have been easy; given how used he was to dealing with Horned Toads. However, Horned Toads didn't hop in zig-zag patterns the way these creatures did. This made the creatures harder to hit, especially since Ratchet didn't fancy baking his fellow Rangers.
A snarling told him two coming from the side.
"Ratchet!" Clank cried.
"I'm on it!" Ratchet replied. He turned his Pyrocitor in the direction he'd heard the snarls, catching both creatures… and Cora as well. They'd managed to get hold of her - one on her wrist, the other on her waist.
"Oops!" Ratchet realised, though he couldn't hold back a grin as he turned his weapon away hurriedly. This left a smoking, soot-blackened Cora scowling at Ratchet as she threw off the burnt remains of her assailants.
"You're lucky these suits are flameproof," she hissed.
"Sorry," Ratchet said, and though he was still grinning, he found he was legit sorry, if only a little.
As soon as the creatures ahead of the Rangers were dealt with, Qwark called, "Come on, we must keep moving!"
"Err, I think I should head back and guard the dropship," L-13 proposed.
"Oh no, you don't, soldier!" Cora threatened, grabbing him by the bottom of his faceplate. "The dropship is in orbit and can guard itself. If you try and sneak off again, then I'll be the one to truly fear! Understand?!"
"Yes, ma'am!" L-13 saluted nervously.
The group proceeded onward through the corridors. More toad-like creatures, or Swarmers as the Rangers would later find out they were called, appeared out of the ducts every so often. Soon, they were joined by four-legged insectoid creatures with long necks and powerful jaws. These 'Snappers' managed to get their teeth onto a GRU and tear him to shreds, the GRU screaming all the while.
Clank would be haunted by that scream for some time afterwards.
Brax got some payback by grabbing a Snapper by the jaws as it lunged, and actually pulling the jaws so far apart that they, well, snapped. Cora broke the neck of another. Helga body-slammed some more, pinning them to the ground.
Meanwhile, as Swarmers came at him, Ratchet had an idea. He whipped out the Suck Cannon he'd picked up on Eudora.
"Time to do a little household cleaning of nasty little creatures," the Lombax grinned and activated the Cannon. In seconds, a vortex was whistling in the corridor. Swarmers were sucked in like dirt into a vacuum cleaner. After about 20 Swarmers, the Cannon stopped. Only a couple of Swarmers and some Snappers were left, but Cora and a GRU took them out with ease.
"Nice weapon there, kid," Brax complimented as they moved on. "Perhaps store it away for now. In my experience, you should save big blasts for big enemies."
"Now that I can agree with," Qwark noted.
"Okay," Ratchet acknowledged.
Clank was barely listening. He had mostly filtered out the Rangers' banter and gunfire and footsteps clanking against the floor, and was focussing on the sounds around them; the sounds coming from the station itself. Oddly, there was still nothing.
'Strange,' Clank thought, 'it looked busier in the commercial.'
The knot in Clank's circuits tightened as the group entered a spacious lift and proceeded up to the next level. He did not like this one bit. He also found it odd that Elaris apparently needed to lie down. He had not detected any medical problems with her.
The robot turned his optics on Qwark. He wanted to proclaim his suspicions to the other Rangers… but then, either he would look a fool or Qwark might spring some kind of trap.
Perhaps he could… suggest that Qwark go ahead of them at one point, and then find a way to 'accidentally' cut him off from the other Rangers. That seemed the most reasonable course of action for now.
A door appeared as they rounded a corner. Two Blarg guards stood with their backs to them.
"Allow me!" Ratchet declared. He raised the Suck Cannon and sent a barrage of weaponised Swarmers flying towards the Blarg. The two soldiers barely had time to look round before they were blown to bits by the improvised ammo.
Ratchet grinned at Qwark as he blew a stream of smoke from the barrel of the Suck Cannon. "Guess I do have what it takes, don't I?" he boasted.
Qwark scowled.
Cora knelt to examine what looked like another Invinco-Lock. "We must be getting close," she noted as she summoned her Trepasser and inserted it into the lock.
While she looked, Clank turned to Qwark. "Excuse me, Captain?"
Qwark looked round. "Yes?"
"I was thinking… perhaps you should go ahead of us in the next room. After all, the leader should always go first. We can cover you."
"Vot happened to sticking together?" Helga interjected.
"Yeah, I thought you said it was safer for us to keep in a group," Brax pointed out.
"Maybe your memory circuits have been scrambled," Ratchet suggested teasingly.
"A bot can change his mind when necessary," Clank defended.
To his surprise, Qwark smiled. "You know what, that's exactly what I was thinking of doing. I've got a feeling Drek may very well be in this room. If so, I should lead the charge, bravely sacrificing my life to protect you lot if NB."
"Qvark, no!" Helga pleaded.
"No time for discussions," Qwark interrupted firmly. "It's what a hero does, is it not, Helga?"
At that moment, Cora had just cracked the Invinco-Lock, and the door opened.
The Rangers found themselves looking into a large, cavernous room, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. A rocky path led to a roughly circular expanse. And it was all surrounded by boiling lava.
In the middle of the room was Chairman Drek with Victor Von Ion and Doctor Nefarious standing on either side of him. All three had their backs to the Rangers.
"Stay here," Qwark advised quietly. "I'll see if I can spring 'em!"
And without waiting for input, he advanced on tiptoe, Blaster in hand. Strangely, Drek and his two closest henchmen didn't seem to be moving.
Clank found himself hoping that Qwark tripped some kind of trap.
Qwark aimed his blaster at the backs of the three enemies. But as he came within a few feet of them, Victor suddenly whirled round and seized Qwark by the throat. Drek and Nefarious vanished from sight. They had never been there to begin with.
"Captain!" Cora yelped, and before Clank could protest, the Rangers summoned various weapons and charged. The heat from the lava hit them like a wave. Somehow, despite the Protosuits being insulated against excessive heat, Ratchet still found it hotter than Veldin during the summer.
"Stop!" ordered Victor, holding Qwark over the lava. "One more step, and the great Captain Qwark receives an extra hot bath!" Oddly enough, Qwark didn't seem to be struggling that hard.
"Rangers, I think we should go," Clank advised. "And quickly!"
But of course, no one took any notice.
"Oh yeah, Victor?" Brax dared, taking aim with his Tesla Claw. "Let's see who has faster reactions!"
"NEIN!" cried Helga, pushing his weapon down. "If you shoot, you'll either hit Qvark or he'll drop Qvark into ze lava anyvay, you Gehirnverweigerer!"
"Typical cowardly tactic!" Ratchet sneered.
"That depends on what you define as cowardly, Lombax," Victor replied, as a floating platform came hovering over to receive him and his prisoner.
"Everyone, we have to go, now!" Clank urged. "Before-!"
The door behind them slammed shut with a thud. As the Rangers looked back at it worriedly, an ominous chuckle filled the room.
Victor had released Qwark, and he had turned to face them with a rather unpleasant grin as the floating platform lifted them both into the air.
"You should've listened to your little friend!" he declared.
Clank's optics narrowed. This was it! He could deny it no longer!
"I knew it!" the little robot accused. "Elaris and I knew it!"
"Knew what?" Cora demanded.
"Qwark, what is going on?!" Ratchet demanded. "If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny!"
"No joke, Lombax," Qwark replied. "You lot walked right into our trap! By the time you lot escape, it'll be too late!"
"Too late for vat?!" Helga wondered.
"He's been helping Drek this whole time," Clank explained, "haven't you, Qwark? That explains your absences whenever a planet was destroyed."
"Exactly," Qwark confirmed. "Someone had to make everyone left before they were vaporized."
"But… why are you doing this, Captain?" Brax wondered, looking hurt. Memories flashed through his mind - Qwark finding and saving him from his previous work, Qwark training him and officially declaring him a Ranger, all the times they'd fought together - it now felt tainted.
"Oh, it's nothing personal, guys," Qwark assured. "I was just tired of the same old hero shtick. Chairman Drek made me a very good offer to be the spokesperson of the new planet he's making; on the grounds no one from the harvested planets gets hurt, of course," he added. "And, unfortunately, your interference jeopardises that deal." His expression hardened. "So take my advice: stay out of our way, and no more harm need come to any of you. I would seriously prefer that way."
"In your dreams, you filthy, sneaking turncoat!" yelled Ratchet, his face reddening under his fur. "We'll find you, and when you do-!"
"You'll what?" Qwark wondered. "Stop me? I've had years of experience, kid, but you… you're barely a cadet. It's like I said before on Veldin: you don't have what it takes." He shrugged. "I sure hope that's not a thing with Lombaxes in general; it'd be pretty shameful-" Qwark and Victor almost fell off the platform to dodge a burst of Blaster fire aimed at them by the enraged Lombax. One of the shots hit the platform, causing it to jerk about slightly.
"Okay, that's enough monologuing," Victor decided, as he managed to regain control of the platform and piloted it towards a gap in the cavern wall.
Clank's circuits plummeted so rapidly, he thought he might malfunction. Despite having his suspicions, it was still appalling that Captain Qwark would betray the people he was sworn to protect. The people would be devastated to hear this.
Cora looked numb with shock. Brax seemed almost to have shrunken slightly as he fell to his knees. Helga was rambling numbly in German. The GRUs were exchanging looks at each other, apparently struggling to fully process what had just happened. Clank couldn't blame them.
Ratchet was furious! He had looked up to Qwark his own life. He'd dreamed and fantasized of being a great hero during the many hours of work in Grim's garage. True, Qwark's rejection during recruitments had angered Ratchet. But this… Ratchet's insides were boiling.
"This isn't over, Qwark!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the cavern. "We will find you, and you're going down!" He rounded on Clank. "And you! What did you mean by 'I knew it!'?! Have you been hiding something from us, Clank?!"
Clank had been so busy thinking about how he was going to discuss this with Elaris that he started. "Err, what? Oh, yes. Well, Elaris and I had been noting Qwark's strange absences whenever a planet had been destroyed. We even wondered whether Qwark may have turned traitor. It looks like we finally have our proof."
Ratchet's hands clenched in fists of outrage. "And you never bothered to tell us any of this?!" he cried, throwing up his hands as he advanced on Clank.
"You couldn't have given us a warning?!" Cora added, also ganging up on Clank.
"Well, technically, I did," Clank pointed out. "I did voice my concern that Qwark might do something that could jeopardise the mission. This is it."
"You couldn't have been more specific?!" Ratchet cried.
"There was no enough information to make specific accusations," Clank defended.
At that moment, a voice blared over the intercom.
'Attention, intruders! You are standing in the testing facility for a Blargian Snagglebeast!'
Next moment, the ground shook as said beast landed in front of them, throwing up rock and dirt. The Blargian Snagglebeast was massive; more than twice Qwark's size. Its long arms bulged with muscles, as did the body, the back of which sported black horns. Chains adorned its armoured neck, the waist and wrists. Some kind of helmet covered its head. The eyes were an angry red above its massive lower jaw. The Snagglebeast let out a massive bestial roar that made the whole room tremble.
'Chairman Alonzo Drek thanks you for your sacrifice!' the voice concluded.
"Well, thanks a lot, idiot!" Ratchet snorted, bonking Clank hard on the head. "Your zipped mouth-plate is about to get us killed!"
'Hey, hey!' cried Qwark's voice over the intercom. 'You didn't say anything about them facing a Snagglebeast!'
'Sorry, Captain,' replied the first voice. 'It's out of our hands now! That creature was running rampant anyway! Hopefully, you'll have trained them enough to survive! Now, come on! Chairman Drek is waiting for us!'
The Snagglebeast beat its chest and gave another massive roar that shook rocks from the ceiling.
"Help!" cried the GRUs, and they scattered in a panic in all directions.
"Rangers, take evasive action!" Cora instructed. Brax and Helga were still in shock over Qwark's betrayal. But they did as the Markazian advised. And not a moment too soon!
The Snagglebeast started slamming its fists into the ground repeatedly. Every time it did, columns of fire inexplicably sprung up underfoot. Two more GRUs were melted into molten slop. Helga narrowly avoided having her massive backside roasted. Cora almost lost her tail.
As it advanced, several Bombs hit the Snagglebeast hard in the left temple and cheek. Ratchet had thrown them. He was livid!
"You're not going to stop me from exacting justice on Qwark!" he shouted.
The Bombs had had little effect on the beast, given its tough, scaly skin. But they had aggravated it. The beast turned towards Ratchet. With a roar, it bounded towards Ratchet, its hands raised. Ratchet dove out of the way. The beast's hands came together with enough force to pulverize Ratchet had he been caught between them.
"Go find something your own size to bother!" Ratchet demanded, firing a Proton Drum at the beast before switching to his Blaster. "We have a traitorous Captain to screw over!"
The beast just roared again. The Drum's shockwaves and Blaster shots did little to phase it.
"This isn't the time for demands, kid!" Cora cried as she darted around, stopping every so often to shoot. "This beast can't be reasoned with!"
Ratchet just snarled. He was in no mood to be lectured, least of all by Cora. He was sweating, despite his suit's insulation. His nose was stinging from the stench of sulphur. And his hero had DARED to insult him and his kind! This beast would get no mercy from this Lombax!
Brax grabbed the beast by the jaws as it charged again. The Khegral tried to hold its mouth so Helga could get a shot down its throat. But Brax seemed weaker than he usually was. And Helga fumbled her Blaster in her thick fingers. As a result, the Beast hafted Brax off his feet. It tossed him into the air, opening its mouth to swallow him into probably two or three bites.
Brax was saved when Ratchet used Clank's Heli-Pack to make a flying leap at the beast. The Lombax slammed his foot into the side of the beast's head. This knocked it to the side just enough that Brax bounced off the beast's cheek and fell to the ground. The Khegral promptly scampered out of harm's way.
Turning its head towards Ratchet, the Snagglebeast roared in frustration and charged. Ratchet dodged to the side. The Snagglebeast tried to stop. But it skidded, its claws gouging the rock. The beast slid over the edge of the rock and landed in the lava.
Ratchet fist-pumped, sure the Snagglebeast was dead. But a moment later, the beast burst out of the lava, writhing and roaring in pain and fury. Its skin wasn't tough enough to make a lava bath painless.
The beast managed to haul itself out of the lava. It skin glowed hot. The Rangers readied themselves for another charge. But the beast leapt up and away towards the ceiling. A shield blossomed around it, no doubt for protection. Next moment, the plateau was swarming with, well, Swarmers (I know, on the nose) and Snappers.
"Not again!" yelped a GRU, firing his arm cannon in a panic.
"Back off, you little buggers!" hissed Cora, continuing to dart about, picking off creatures one by one with a different weapon each time.
Ratchet's snarl became more pronounced. He smashed a Snapper over the head with his wrench. A Swarmer was squashed under Ratchet's foot. A large group of them were incinerated with the Pyrocitor. Blocks of pixelated creatures flew everywhere. More of them were thrown into the air by Proton Drums.
The Lombax didn't even register the green blood spattered across his armour.
Clank was unnerved. And so were the other Rangers.
At that moment, the Snagglebeast came back down. The plateau shook with such force that most of the Rangers fell over. Ratchet didn't.
The beast let out a stream of fire from its maw. Ratchet somersaulted out of the way.
'Time to fight fire with fire' the Lombax fought, drawing his Pyrocitor. He took aim and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Ratchet checked his weapon. He cursed upon realising its fuel tank was empty. And unfortunately, his HUD told him his other weapons were low on ammo too. To make matters worse, there were no ammo crates nearby. Drek and Qwark had really thought ahead.
This distraction nearly got Ratchet on the receiving end of a plasma beam shot from the beast's helmet. The beam gouged a long chasm into the plateau.
"I'm low on ammo!" he hissed.
"Join the club, kid!" Cora retorted as her Blaster clicked.
"Looks like you may have to use other means to take out this beast," Clank noted.
"Gee, that didn't occur to me, you bolt-head!" Ratchet snapped as he drew his wrench.
The beast charged at Ratchet again. The Lombax booked it out of the way. The other Rangers did likewise. The beast overshot. It skidded off the plateau, hit the stone wall and dropped into the lava again. Once more, roars of pain and rage shook the cavern. The cracks left in the wall where it had hit grew larger. Realising his chance, Ratchet drew a Bomb and threw it at the beast.
BOOM!
Most creatures would've been felled by this point. The beast simply got angrier still. It hauled itself from the lava, but didn't bother with retreating to recover. It just came at them again. But it was now limping slightly and wincing every so often.
Ratchet realised how they could defeat the Snagglebeast. He drew his Taunter and pulled the trigger. The sound of someone blowing a raspberry echoed across the chamber.
The beast, roaring in fury, charged again. Ratchet darted to the side. This time, the giant monster managed to avoid a third lava bath, albeit narrowly. The beast roared again, clearly aggravated. It fired its beam again, but Ratchet was too nimble.
Cora cottoned on to the Lombax's strategy. She signalled to the others, and then darted to the edge of the plateau. The Markazian shouted out to the Snagglebeast. She waved her arms as it turned and pulled a face.
The Snagglebeast charged at her. Cora rolled sideways. The beast managed to avoid falling in the lava, though its left arm did dip into it.
Brax and Helga made similar taunting motions and cries. The beast didn't charge, instead firing its laser beam in a sweeping motion. However, Ratchet knew what to do. He ran forwards from the Snagglebeast's side. Clank levitated him up with his rotors. The Lombax raised his wrench over his head. It came crashing down hard on the beast's helmet.
The beast winced at the blow. The helmet sparked. But it still functioned. Ratchet was thrown as the beast reared back.
"This thing doesn't know when to quit!" wailed L-13, who was, unfortunately in his optic, still functioning himself. "Every Ranger for themselves!"
"You run and you're scrap!" Cora threatened.
L-13's wail had drawn the beast's attention. It came running at him next. Cora quickly pulled him aside. The beast found itself once again taking an extremely hot bath. To add insult to injury, due to the damage dealt by Ratchet's wrench, the beast's helmet now short-circuited. The beast began to jerk and spasm, sending lava everywhere. The beam shot in random directions, blasting rock from the walls and notably blowing open the damaged wall. This revealed an adjacent room.
The beast did manage to pull its huge body free of the lava. But it was still confused and disoriented. Furthermore, it looked like the cavern might collapse at any second. The Rangers had to make their move, fast!
Summoning a Bomb, Ratchet threw his explosive towards the beast's helmet with all his might. At the same time, Cora, Brax and Helga also lobbied grenades. Meanwhile, the remaining GRUs took shots at the creature's body. The shots made little impact, but the four bombs did the job.
The helmet was blown to bits. The Snagglebeast staggered and then fell with a thud that almost collapsed the plateau into the lava.
"And stay down!" Ratchet yelled, whacking the beast on the head with his wrench.
"He is already finished, Ratchet," Clank reminded.
"Hey, he was still moving!" Ratchet retorted. He whacked the beast again. "See?"
"Come on," urged Cora as they scrambled for the hole, just as rocks fell from the ceiling. Ratchet was quick to follow, though not without giving the Snagglebeast one last kick for good measure.
Some conveniently placed rocks, either from the wall or the ceiling, allowed the Rangers to climb through the hole without worrying of taking lava dips themselves. As soon as they were all through, they ran into the next room for extra cover and Cora slammed the door shut.
Now they were all safely out of danger, the Rangers could finally catch their breath, both figuratively and literally. It felt especially good to be away from the heat of the lava.
Ratchet in particular was breathing heavily, but not just from exhaustion. Cora's eyes were closed. Brax and Helga had sunk to the floor, as had L-13, who was whimpering in fright.
"Let's… let's hope there's nano-tech nearby," panted Brax.
"I'll check the next room," answered Cora. But as she opened the door to said room, an Info-bot hovered in.
"Hmm, I wonder what this Info-bot is for," wondered Clank.
"I bet my weight in bolts it's more reliable than you've been!" chided Ratchet, wiping from his brow.
The Info-bot unfolded its screen, and began to play its message.
A Rangers' Commando appeared on the screen.
"Rangers! We're pinned down! We're pinned down!" he cried, looking around him frantically. "The ships are hammering our position from the air!"
The camera suddenly shook with an explosion. The Commando glanced to his right.
"That was a little too close! We need support, NOW!" He hesitated. "Well, actually, I need support! My entire battalion of GRUs went AWOL and left me to cover this planet on my own! If the enemy doesn't scrap those guys, I will!"
The camera shook again with explosions.
"I'm not gonna last much longer! Requesting immediate assistance from any available Rangers! Over and out!"
"That was from Batalia!" Cora realised.
"Looks like Drek's forces have made their move on one of the other targeted planets," Clank realised. "We must help that Commando."
"The only one who's gonna need any help is Qwark!" snarled Ratchet. He didn't seem to have watched the Info-bot's video at all. His face was contorted with rage. "I say we go after that meat-head and make him sorry he messed with me-us, I mean!"
"He will pay for his deception, make no mistake," Cora conceded, "but we can't abandon our comrades when they need us."
"Well, you can go and help them if you wish," Ratchet said dismissively. "I'm going after Qwark!" The Lombax strode away, muttering angrily to himself. "Huh, lie to us, will he, the good-for-nothing, deceptive lug?!"
Clank followed. "I would not be so judgmental of Qwark for lying, Ratchet," he noted. "After all, you were not wholly honest with me regarding your relationship with the Galactic Rangers."
Ratchet rounded on him, incensed and incredulous. "You're still harping on about that?! What does it matter now?! I told a little white lie so we could both achieve what we wanted; so what?!"
"How do you expect me to trust you if you cannot be wholly honest with me?" Clank inquired, clearly struggling to keep his voice level.
"You clanking hypocrite!" Ratchet retorted. "You weren't wholly honest with me either!"
"I did not say any lies," Clank pointed out. "I simply did not tell you everything due to lack of evidence."
"Newsflash: that's lying by omission, lugnut!" shouted Ratchet. "You're in no position to lecture me about lying when you couldn't trust me with your suspicions about Qwark!"
Clank stared up at Ratchet in surprise, momentarily lost for words. And he was not the only one. Brax, Helga and the GRUs were watching the argument with clear signs of apprehension. Even Cora was taken aback by Ratchet's temper.
"Ratchet, this really is not like you," Clank noted, somewhat concernedly.
"And what do you know about me?!" Ratchet demanded. "No one knows jack about me! Even I know zilch about me!"
Clank had clearly touched a nerve. Cora's eyes dipped in contemplation. Brax and Helga expressed worried looks. The GRUs shivered.
Ratchet turned away. "Qwark's gonna pay for his betrayal and you can't stop me, Clank!" he declared firmly. "He's made it personal!" And he stormed away.
Though Clank still felt he had been justified in withholding his suspicions, for the first time, a twinge of guilt gripped his circuits.
"This is going to be a very serious problem," he commented quietly, following after Ratchet.
And so, with Qwark's hand now revealed, the Rangers aren't quite out of the figurative fire yet. And how will Ratchet and Clank's friendship survive, if at all?