Widget & Clank: Lombax Bebop (Ratchet & Clank AU)

[Tangent]

Location: Aleero City General Hospital, Kerwan
Time: 9:00 AM, Wednesday

"Aren't you two supposed to be on your way to Veldin?" Grimroth asked as Widget and Clank walked into his hospital room.

"We've got time for a brief visit," Widget said with a smile. "And they might actually release you while we're off Kerwan, so we wanted to say goodbye."

"Indeed," Clank stated in agreement. "We really should be leaving soon, but we both wanted a chance to say a proper farewell."

"You're both good kids…"

"I'm eighteen, Grim," Widget objected, although she was still smiling.

"You'll always be kids to me, Widget," Grim joked. "Even when you're old and wrinkly and Clank is dented and tarnished with age and wear, you'll both still be my kids."

"We love you too… Dad." Widget hugged Grim, then reached down to pull Clank up into the hug as well.

"Affirmative… Dad," Clank agreed.

"Now you crazy kids get outta here before you miss your ship!"

O o O o O​

Location: T-88 Starbus Transport, enroute from Kerwan to Veldin
Time: 9:35 AM, Wednesday

"Well, this is it," Widget looked out the window by her assigned seat, watching Kerwan recede below them.

"This is what?" Clank asked, privately quite pleased that the Spaceport had not even tried to treat him as cargo (having witnessed another bot boarding the next ship over being redirected to a luggage trolley).

"This will be my first visit to Veldin since I joined the Rangers and left," Widget clarified as she leaned back into her seat and looked down at her brother beside her. "Except that I kind of didn't expect it to happen so soon." She sighed, and her expression grew melancholy. "I also expected that Grim… Dad… would still be there, along with our home. I wonder if any of our friends are okay?"

"Perhaps we can find time to check on them?" Clank suggested. "I too find myself wondering how Gogo Neutronic is faring."

"You know Gogo?" Widget asked, surprised.

"She was the one who recovered me from the wreckage of the fighter I used to escape from the BlargTech Warbot factory on Quartu," Clank explained. "And she's the one who led me to… Hmmm… Dad wasn't yet my father at the time, so I'm not sure how to talk about him in the past tense."

"Well…" Widget paused in thought, bringing a hand to her chin, then shrugged. "Actually, I have no idea either. Anyway, how about we check on Gogo, my other friends, and Dad's friends before we leave Veldin again?"

"That would be quite agreeable," Clank nodded.

O o O o O​

Location: Tobruk Crater, Novalis
Time: 10:00 AM, Wednesday

"Huh," Shiv Helix looked around as he and The Stig left the spaceport and wandered into the colony proper, looking for a place to eat before checking around for a cheap apartment. "I guess I can see why they decided to hold a charity event to help with the rebuilding. This place got hammered pretty hard."

The Stig shrugged in response.

"Yeah, I suppose it ain't any of our business. Hey, that place looks clean and open, and it even has holonet access! Lets order something to eat that doesn't taste like fifteen other people had previously digested it, and start looking up what we'll need for the job."

The Stig nodded as they turned towards the cafe across the street…

O o O o O​

Location: Builders' League United Construction Hauler, en route from Aridia to Veldin (going slow - well, slowish…)
Time: 10:00 AM, Wednesday

"Are you certain that you will be finished in time?" Jack asked as he held up a thruster so that Spanner could wield it into place.

"You worry too much," Spanner retorted dismissively. "It won't look pretty, and I doubt it'll last longer than a day once we start, but it doesn't really need to last long, does it?"

"No, I suppose that you are correct."

"Anyway, while I'm causing a ruckus, I'd like you to secure us a getaway vehicle. Preferably a ship capable of leaving the system, but failing that you should at least grab something that can get us to someplace on Veldin that nobody goes to."

"I am given to understand that F Sector is avoided by the locals due to various dangers associated with that location."

"Sounds like a good fallback position if you can't get us a ship."

"Very well. But I will still endeavor to secure a ship for us."

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: 1:00 PM, Wednesday

"Hey, Jimmy!" Widget called out as she and Clank left the makeshift spaceport.

"Widget?" the Cazar apparently named Jimmy replied, first looking surprised to see her, then inexplicably nervous for some reason.

"Clank, this is Rat-tailed Jimmy! He used to sell powdered goods in the alley behind the baker in the old neighborhood I used to live in before grim took me in! Not that he ever let me have any."

"Well…" Jimmy hesitated, still nervous, "you know what you were like back then, right? Could you imagine yourself on… sugar?"

"Huh… I guess you might have a point there," Widget conceded. "I was pretty wild back then. Anyway, Clank and I are back in town to participate in the charity events for the rebuild, and we thought we'd take some time to check on our friends. So, how're you doing? Still selling sugar behind Mr. Wilson's back?"

Jimmy relaxed. "Naw, Dennis has that gig now. I'm peddling medicine. Y'know, nanotech gel and stuff! They give me a pallet at the relief center, and I take it into the old neighborhood where they don't feel safe going yet. Everyone's been calling me Dr. Feelgood!"

"Well, look at you! Moving up in the world!" Widget congratulated Jimmy. "Maybe you can turn that into an actual degree and make some real money. Actual doctors bring in the Bolts you know."

"Uh… Yeah, I'll look into it," Jimmy nodded.

"Anyway, have you seen Gogo around?"

"Oh…" Jimmy's expression turned serious as he lost his nervousness. "Yeah, I've seen her. She's been hanging around in that clubhouse she thinks is hidden out behind the south mesa. You can't miss it - it's the shed with the cardboard sign with Evil Lair written in dayglow crayon on it."

"That is such a Gogo thing to do," Widget chuckled.

"But you should know, before you go see her, Gogo's folks? Well, they didn't make it through the attack. Otto Motov has been there for her, being a friend and playing minion, but I don't think she's doing too well. Y'think… I dunno… Maybe you might be able to get her to come to the relief center for grief counseling? They've really been helping a lot of the survivors. I've tried to get her to go, but she thinks I'm her competition and won't listen to me. She might actually listen to you."

"I'll see what I can do," Widget agreed.

"We still have some time before we have to sign in for the hoverbike event," Clank noted.

"Not a lot though, if she's all the way back behind the south mesa," Widget pointed out. "We'll check, but any real talk with her will have to wait until after the race."

As the two Galactic Rangers wandered off to the south, Jimmy allowed himself to sag in relief. "Whew! That was close! Sweet kid though. Glad she made it out of the neighborhood."

O o O o O​

Location: Dr. Neutron's Evil Lair of Evilness, Veldin
Time: 1:25 PM, Wednesday

"Dr. Neutron! Somebody left a note on our door!" Otto Motov pointed out.

"I can see that, Otto," Gogo stated as she walked up to the note and pulled it off the door to read it. "Hey! Widget was here!"

"Really?"

"The note says that she's going to be participating in the charity races, but that she should have time for a proper visit after the first race!"

"That's great!" Otto exclaimed, happy to see his friend's mood noticeably improve. "Want to go watch the race while we wait for her?"

"Yes, Otto, I believe that I do…"

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Hoverbike Race (what do you call the ready area?), Veldin
Time: 1:30 PM, Wednesday

"Okay," the big, burly Rilgarian wearing biker leathers and an extra pointy helmet (Rilggarian helmets made allowances for their natural head spikes, but this guy's helmet went the extra distance - either that, or he was compensating for premature male pattern bluntness) addressed everyone from a small stage. "I see we have an extra big crowd of bikers this year. Which is good, given why we're racing here on Veldin and not at our previously planned course on Battalia. Which, I will remind you, is not because Sheriff Buford T. Justice threatened to shut us down if we showed up in his jurisdiction again! He don't scare us!"

"Then why'd you need a change of pants the last time he cornered you?" another biker from the gathered crowd of racers called out.

"I slipped in the mud! That's why!" the Rilgarian yelled back. "Anyway, this is a charity event, meanin' all of yas had ta pay your way in, or ya wouldn't be allowed in, bike or no bike. Which, ah… That reminds me, we only have a limited number of extra hoverbikes to rent out to those a ya who didn't think to bring one, and they're pretty much all in as is condition, so take it or get used to runnin' on foot (or whatever ya use to run with). Not our fault if yas didn't think ahead or nothin'!

"Now it was real nice of the Wipeout League to offer to let us use the track they built, but it turns out that their course is way too long for any hoverbike to finish even one circuit before dinnertime, let alone three, an' they don't do obstacles 'cause o' how fast their suicide sleds go. So me and the boys asked them to just set up some signs around one of the canyon courses we've used in the past.

"For those of ya who ain't done this before (an' I see a lotta new faces here), LISTEN UP! The rules are simple: Three laps, and ya have to pass each checkpoint IN ORDER! Shortcuts are fine if ya can pull them off, but miss even one checkpoint, and it'll be docked from yer time! Got that?"

There was a general sound of assent.

"Rule two: Nothin' lethal! I know some of yas got yer bikes tricked out with weapons, gizmos, and other surprises. There's always at least one chucklehead in every race who thinks it's funny to launch goop-bombs or spray oily mist behind them, or some other stupid stunt ta give 'em an edge. That's fine, we're used to it an' it's all in good fun, but if me an' the boys see any buzz-blades or other really dangerous shit like that, we's gonna be havin' a discussion with ya out behind the stands after the race, with some chains an' other party favors, if ya know what I mean, capiche?

"And that's assumin' our special celebrity guest racer, Widget Razz, Commando of the Galactic Rangers, don't beat the shit outta ya first! She's a local girl, and we've tussled before over scrap, so I can tell yas all from experience that she's mean in a fight!"

"Wasn't she five at the time?" another biker called out.

"An' she probably fights even meaner now! So reign it in, or she'll rain on you! Got it?"

"Does this mean I can use my Omnimallet?" Widget called out, pulling it out of her A.S.S. and brandishing it over her head.

"Up to you, I guess," the Rilgarian shrugged. As a bunch of the formerly laughing racers suddenly grew less rowdy. For reasons…

"Anyway, I'd say have a nice clean race, but I'm pretty sure the route we're runnin' still has that mud pit and a couple o' waterfalls, so there's not much chance of not needin' a shower after we're done. Goggles or visors are optional, as always, but don't come runnin' ta us if ya get blinded, 'cause we don't wanna see it! Now mount up and line up at the starting line! We race in ten!"

O o O o O​

"Be careful out there," Clank cautioned Widget as they briefly checked over the hoverbike Widget would be using. It wasn't really anything special. Just a stock model someone had donated to the Galactic Rangers for the event, and pretty much exactly like the ones Cora and Brax had also received for the race they would be attending on Novalis.

"I'll be fine," Widget assured her brother. "I used to test out my hoverboard in these canyons, so I'm already familiar with the course they posted. Including all of the possible shortcuts that won't get me docked for time."

"But you'll be going much faster than a hoverboard, and I do not think that your 'ride' has been tricked out with extra options like the man implied some of the others will be."

"Clank, I've got it covered," Widget patted her A.S.S. "Besides, I just want to put in a good showing. A few days of practice isn't nearly enough for me to expect to pull off a win here, but it would be nice if I can make it in somewhere around the middle. Not that I won't try to win, of course."

"Very well, I'll try not to worry too much. I'll be in service pit three if you have any issues when you reach that point. They have a pit-bot set there I can override to ensure swift and efficient refueling and repairs."

"I'd ask how that works, but we're out of time. See you in a bit!" With that, Widget moved her hoverbike to an open spot at the starting line…

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: 1: 45 PM, Wednesday

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" the voice of a very familiar media personality rang out over the hoverstands. "Dallas Wannamaker here, along with my lovely cohost, Juanita Alvera, at the charity Hoverbike racing event at the Kyzil Plateau on Veldin!"

"We were going to be covering the races on Novalis instead, but somebody whose name I won't mention, Dallas, apparently saw that Commando of the Galactic Rangers would be here instead, and misbooked our flight in hopes of seeing more of her furry white tits."

"Ahaha… She's kidding, folks! Please don't kill us, Commando! But in all seriousness, it looks like we have a wonderful turn out on this fine, sunny day!"

"It's Veldin, Dallas. Unless you're on a coast, pretty much all the days are sunny. And from what I understand, Dallas, I think you should be more concerned with how her brother, Big Guy, would think of your intentions towards his legally adopted sister."

"For those of you who are somehow not yet aware, and for the rest of you who already know, Commando and Big Guy are the newest members of the Galactic Rangers! Both of whom making a very good showing in their defense of Aleero City during the BlargTech attack on Kerwan!"

"That's right, Dallas! And I see that they are not the only celebrities in attendance!"

"Oh? Do tell, Juuuuuuuanita," Dallas prompted, stretching out his cohost's name suggestively as he leaned towards her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have some actual royalty in the race!" Juanita continued, absently shoving Dallas out of her personal space. "Attending today are Princess Krystal of Cerinia…"

"And I see that she is wearing her traditional Cerinian royal adventuring garb!"

"Indeed she is, Dallas! Also in the race are Princess Peach of Mar'zhume, and her longtime friend and rival, Princess Daisy of Sarasa!"

"Ooh! Does this mean that we'll be seeing King Bowser or those plumbers they inexplicably hang out with at these sorts of events?"

"King Bowser and the others were booked for the events on Novalis, Dallas. That's why I tried to schedule us for there, if you remember?"

"Not all of us go for tall, buff, and hot tempered, Juanita. Still, I wonder what brought Princesses Peach and Daisy here instead of Novalis where the rest of their normal group went."

"We'll find out in an exclusive interview after the race!"

"Really, Juanita? You know I wanted to interview Commando!"

"Commando will still be here for the Wipeout League event tomorrow, Dallas! Just interview her after we're done with the princesses!"

"Fine!"

"And there's the traditional Hoverbike Race flag girl, walking out to take her place in the middle of the track in front of the racers!"

"This year's flag girl is the lovely Miss Wundarbrah, from Poketaru! And doesn't she look fine in that halter top and short shorts combo?"

"Reign it in, Dallas."

"Bite me, Miss I-Openly-Want-To-Shag-A-Giant-Robot!"

"At least he's better built than you!"

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 1:59 PM, Wednesday

"Oh my…" Clank uttered upon hearing Juanita Alvera's comments about him (or at least his UltraMech form). He would have been blushing had he been physically capable of doing so.

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 2:00 PM, Wednesday

Widget took off like a shot on her hoverbike, taking an early lead, but losing it almost immediately as the more experienced racers passed her on the first bend. There had been a ramp she could have used to get to an early shortcut, but she hadn't had a good spot at the starting line to make it worth going for this time.

As she had told Clank, she wasn't too worried about actually winning. This year, at least. She just wanted to put in a good showing in support of Veldin since she had grown up here.

Besides, she noted as she passed the former lead who had been hit by a goop-bomb and was even now spraying a release agent on it so he could rejoin the race, not being up front this early might actually be an advantage…

O o O o O​

Location: Builders' League United Construction Hauler, en route from Aridia to Veldin (going slow - well, slowish…)
Time: 2:00 PM, Wednesday

"They are broadcasting the hoverbike event on Veldin live, if you want to see it," Jack informed the shirtless Lombax who was still making adjustments on the Monster-sled that he'd be using to disrupt the Wipeout event tomorrow.

"A bunch of burly guys in leather pulling dipshit stunts on each other while riding crotch-rockets? Pass."

"I believe that there are also several female racers in attendance this year."

"Really? Might be worth a look then."

"I will finish up here, if you want to take a break to watch the race."

"Hey, thanks! I'll owe you one!" Spanner said as he headed off towards the crew lounge to watch the hoverbike race after all.

Jack turned his attention to the almost finished Monster-sled, and made some adjustments of his own while completing the work Spanner had left behind.

After observing Spanner during the course of the mission, Jack had come to the conclusion that it would be best if the Lombax never had a chance to get close to Mr. Drek. And since Mr. Drek sometimes liked to make a show of treating his contract employees to dinners or other events, Spanner would just have to stay on Veldin. One way, or the other...

 

[Tangent]

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 2:15 PM, Wednesday

Technically speaking, terrain didn't matter very much if you were piloting a hoverbike. Well, depending on the model, because some didn't handle going over deeper liquids or loose solids very well, but for the most part a hoverbike handled the same way with little regard for the actual surface you were hovering over.

No, the big issue Widget was discovering with terrain and hoverbikes was having to account for the backwash of whoever was in front of you whenever they were zooming over sand, gravel, or mud. Hell, even just the mist from passing too close to the waterfalls could leave you momentarily blind for a terrifying second or two that seemed to paradoxically stretch on for years.

Somehow this had never come up in the holosims Cora had run her through. But, to be fair, at the time Widget and Cora had thought that the bikers would be using the tracks the Wipeout League were building. And the Wipeout League didn't do variable terrain because anything pulled into the backwash of a speeding Grav-sled could be lethal to whoever happened to be in your slipstream.

Widget wasn't exactly sure where she was in the race, but she was pretty sure that her only hopes for being anywhere near the middle of the pack would be if enough of the other guest racers were just as, or even more, inexperienced as her.

Hmmm… Widget thought that she might be able to do a surprise inside pass on that upcoming tight turn if she used her swingshot…

"AHHHHH!!!" Widget yelled half in pain and half in terror as the energy line she shot into the corner of the canyon wall pulled her right off of her hoverbike and her own momentum carried her into the side of the same wall with enough force to drive the air out of her lungs even through the armor of her Protosuit…

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 2:16 PM, Wednesday

"Ooh! Commando is certainly going to be feeling that in the morning!"

"Indeed she would, Dallas, if it weren't for the modern medical miracle that is nanotech gel. Or have you forgotten that nanotech is a thing?"

"Assuming that there is enough to go around, Juanita, as it looks like Commando isn't the only racer that's going to need it! That's another two racers who will be needing to remount their hoverbikes! This is really going to hurt their chances for a win here!"

"It is still anyone's race, Dallas, as they have plenty of time to try to catch up to the pack!"

"That is correct, Juanita! And, just judging by how slowly and carefully Princess Krystal of Cerinia is going, it looks like she is really regretting her decision to wear her traditional Royal Cerinian Adventuring Garb!"

"That may indeed be the case, Dallas. It is going to be really difficult for Krystal to have even a chance of winning if she doesn't suck it up and pick up her speed."

"Speaking of speed, Juanitta, it looks like Commando is back on her hoverbike and zipping down the course like there's no tomorrow!"

"And I see that she is attempting to make use of the shortcuts designed into the course to make up for lost time!"

"Can Commando pull it off, folks?"

"We'll just have to wait and see, Dallas!"

O o O o O​

Location: Builders' League United Construction Hauler, en route from Aridia to Veldin (going slow - well, slowish…)
Time: 2:20 PM, Wednesday

Judging from the sound of uproarious laughter coming from the direction of the crew lounge, Jack assumed that Spanner was enjoying the race. Which, given his observed behavior, most likely meant unfortunate things were happening among those participating in the event.

Turning his attention back to the Monster-sled, Jack continued to put the finishing touches into place, making sure that his own adjustments wouldn't cause issues with the performance of the mission it had been built for.

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 2:30 PM, Wednesday

"It looks like Widget is starting to pass some of the other racers again, Dr. Neutron!" Otto Motov exclaimed. "Do you think she has a chance of winning?"

Gogo Neutronic thought about it for a moment, then responded. "Unlikely, but I suppose there is a small chance of Widget pulling off a victory here if the buffoons currently in the lead keep messing with each other."

O o O o O​

Location: Tobruk Crater, Novalis
Time: 3:00 PM, Wednesday

As much as he wanted to actually be watching the races Cora and Widget were participating in, and the ones Captain Qwark was going to be passing out prizes for, Shiv Helix had a job to do and preparations to make.

Getting into the Iron Holds shouldn't be too difficult, as he was already familiar with the layout from his previous visit. Even if they changed procedures and schedules since he broke out, and they most likely had because he had been able to escape, it wasn't like he couldn't find out what those changes were. He'd done it enough times from the inside of such facilities with no tools or assistance after all.

"Now I'm gonna have to be extra cautious about being spotted going in," Shiv went over the plan with The Stig again, as they had several times before since Spanner had split off for his part of the mission. "I don't know how loud this Little Tony guy is gonna be on the way out, so I really need for nobody to even know I'm there until I get to him. Hopefully, if Mr. Attention Whore stays on schedule on Veldin, it won't matter too much if Little Tony wants to be violent, as everyone who'd be coming from the outside to respond would already be on their way there instead. Now, do you remember the time windows and alternate pick-up locations?"

The Stig looked at Shiv and nodded.

"Just asking," Shiv said placatingly. "Can't be too careful when working with others. Especially when you really don't know what the two who aren't in the planning process are gonna do. That's what contingency plans are for."

The Stig nodded again, then looked back at the notes and maps Shiv had been working from.

"Glad you agree," Shiv stated. "Always nice to be working with a professional…"

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 3:33 PM, Wednesday

Widget didn't really bother with attempting to bump into any of the other races, or consider using anything in her A.S.S. against them. Not because she didn't have the urge to do so, but more because doing so would more likely turn out to backfire like her attempt to use her swingshot to assist with a sharp turn had.

Besides, she was pretty sure she was positioned somewhat comfortably in a respectable position in the middle of the pack just by using what she had learned over the past few days. There'd be plenty of time to get a real feel for hoverbike racing for the next time.

A female racer in yellow deliberately bumped their hoverbikes together as they were passing over the mud pit for the second time, laughing as Widget tumbled off of her bike and slid across the muddy surface as she sped off…

Only for the laughter to abruptly stop as a swingshot hit her back and she found herself yanked off her own hoverbike and pulled all the way back to a very angry Lombax…

O o O o O​

Location: Aleero City General Hospital, Kerwan
Time: 3:34 PM, Wednesday

"Oh no, Kid," Grimroth Razz muttered to himself as he watched his adopted daughter's antics on live holovid. "Don't let your temper get the better of you again…"

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 3:35 PM, Wednesday

"It looks like Princess Daisy of Sarasa bit off more than she could chew when she deliberately knocked Commando of the Galactic Rangers off of her hoverbike!"

"Indeed it does, Dallas, as Commando had used what appears to be a swingshot line to pull Daisy off of her own bike, and the two now seem to be having it out in the mud pit!"

"And what a fight it is, Juanita, with neither letting the other up long enough to make it back to their hoverbikes! And each getting coated with more and more mud as their fight goes on! It's a wonder they can even see through their helmets anymore with all that mud on them!"

"And there the helmets go, Dallas, as Commando and Daisy each appear to be taking off their own and casting them aside so as to better see each other!"

"It's too bad that they are both wearing racing suits, Juanita, as female mud wrestling is more traditionally done in bikinis!"

"Seriously, Dallas? Oh, wait! It looks like some of the other racers are stopping to watch!"

"Indeed they are, Juanita! That is certainly going to hurt their chances for a win at this point!"

"It appears that Princess Daisy's long time ally and friendly rival, Princess Peach of Mar'zhume, has gotten off of her own hoverbike and is moving to break up the fight, Dallas!"

"That does appear to be the case, Juanita! This fight may be ove… Ooh! Princess Daisy has pulled Peach down into the mud, and now all three of them are going at each other in a three way free for all sprawling brawl!"

"It looks like, unlike the rest of the trailing racers thus far, Princess Krystal of Cerinia has wisely chosen to bypass the fight at the mudpit and continue on her way, Dallas, finally moving her up from her solid last place and firmly into the middle position!"

"And what a shame that is, Juanita, as Krystal is the only participating racer wearing anything even close to traditional mud wrestling attire!"

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 3:50 PM, Wednesday

Clank looked on in disappointment as his sister had apparently given up on trying to get back to her own hoverbike and seemed to now be concentrating on fighting literally anyone who got within arm's reach of her. The turning point for this decision on Widget's part had most likely been when Princess Daisy, in what was most likely a purely accidental coincidence, had managed to pop the emergency release for Widget's Protosuit, leaving her in her Galactic Rangers underwear and her new A.S.S. likely lost in the mud as a result.

Yes, that would seem to be what set his sister off, as she was now very blatantly attempting to deliberately tear Daisy's racing suit right off her.

"XJ0421?" Clank heard the familiar voice of his very first friend, and turned to face the young terachnoid and what appeared to be her equally young Cazar companion.

"Hello, Gogo Neutronic. It is good to see you again."

"It's Dr. Neutron now."

"I see," Clank nodded. "And I go by Clank now. Or Big Guy, depending…"

O o O o O​

Location: Builders' League United Construction Hauler, en route from Aridia to Veldin (going slow - well, slowish…)
Time: 4:00 PM, Wednesday

"YES! YES! TAKE IT ALL OFF, BITCHES!" Spanner cheered at the unfolding disaster of the race tuned mud wrestling match, very happy that he had followed Jack's suggestion about taking a break.

It was kind of disappointing that the Cerinian hadn't joined in, but enough of what the other three were wearing was coming off to keep him happy regardless.

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 4:47 PM, Wednesday

"AND WE HAVE A WINNER! PRINCESS KRYSTAL OF CERINIA HAS WON THE HOVERBIKE RACE!"

"Indeed she has, Dallas! In a not too surprising twist, given that all of the other racers had stopped at the mudpit to either watch or join in on the fight started by Princess Daisy of Sarasa, and Commando of the Galactic Rangers, Princess Krystal is currently the only racer to have passed the finish line on her third lap!"

"And it looks like the race officials are calling it there, Juanita, as they have just ruled that all other racers have been disqualified for participating in a secondary event before finishing the race!"

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 5:15 PM, Wednesday

Widget drifted to a stop back at the staging area and got off her hoverbike wearing mud and precious little else that she was aware of. Not that the other… She wasn't sure what they were, other than that they sort of looked like Croutonians with extra fingers or tailless Markazians with rounded ears. In any case, Widget had given, or rather taken, as good as she got in that brawl and now all three were doing the Walk of Shame.

"Well, that was fun!" the brown haired… Markazian? Widget wondered if it would be impolite to ask, or if she'd just have to look up what they actually were later.

"Really, Daisy," the blonde one palmed her face. "You just had to start something with a Lombax! You know how they can get when provoked!"

"That's what makes it fun!"

"I hate you two so much right now," Widget stated in exasperation.

"You'll get over it. Daisy kind of grows on you. Like a fungus."

"Hey! Mushrooms are your thing, not mine!"

"Ladies, ladies!" the burly Rilgarian from before the race interrupted them before their argument could go much further. "Let's keep it all civil-like!"

The three women stopped and looked at the very much cleaner than they were Rilgarian. And the other bikers gathered behind him.

"Now, this was supposed to be a good, clean race," he went on. "But you three went and turned it into anything but a race. Or clean for that matter. Now I ain't going to begrudge the Cerinian babe for plugging along and taking the win when literally everyone else effectively quit, but that weren't no race. And since you three are the cause o' that, there's gonna have to be a penalty."

"What kind of penalty?" Widget asked cautiously.

"Oh, nothin' too bad," the Rilgarian waved off her concern. "We can't do nothin' about the race part, but me and the boys? We figured we could help with the clean. HOSE 'EM!"

With that, the three were hit from most sides by the powerful sprays of several Hydrodisplacers!

And it was soon revealed that mud had indeed been all the three had been left with, and even that was gone now.

Oddly enough, the three women won the second brawl to have been caused during this event quite handily and, perhaps to no one's surprise, rather brutally.

"Yeah…" the burly Rilgarian groaned in pain from the pile of his defeated fellows as he watched the three victors saunter off with a swagger in their shapely hips. "Widget has definitely gotten meaner in a fight…"

"But it was so worth it…" one of the other bikers put in his two Bolts.

"Yeah, can't really argue with that…"

O o O o O​

Location: Aleero City General Hospital, Kerwan
Time: 5:20 PM, Wednesday

"I'm going to have to buy the biggest plushie I can find, and maybe come up with a list of recommended therapists to help her get over her issues if this keeps up," Grim noted to himself as he turned off the holonet in his hospital room.

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Canyon Course, Veldin
Time: 5:50 PM, Wednesday

"I took the liberty of commandeering some pit-bots," Clank stated as his sister approached. "I sent one to fetch your luggage from the hotel, and the others are heading out to the mudpit to recover your Protosuit and A.S.S."

"Thanks, Clank."

"Gogo Neutronic stopped by while you were racing."

"Oh? Did she say anything about getting together later?"

"I regret to inform you that Gogo has elected to not meet you at this time. She has stated that, since you have elected to follow through on your plans to join the Galactic Rangers and be a hero, and she still aspires to be a supervillain, she chooses to face you next on the field of battle. And perhaps have a tea party afterwards."

"That is such a Gogo thing to do," Widget chuckled. "So… What's her supervillain name this time? Last time it was Princess Professor, and the time before that is was The Mind."

"I believe that she has declared herself to be Dr. Neutron," Clank stated. "Are you not worried about Gogo's intent to become a supervillain?"

"Eh, not really," Widget shrugged. "She's heavily into roleplaying and megaviolent holovid games, but is generally a sweet kid in person. It's apparently a Terachnoid thing. Sort of like their race's hat, if you know what I mean."

"I am afraid to say that I have no idea what you mean."

"It's… I suppose it's another way of saying that it's a stereotype," Widget admitted. "It's just that every Terachnoid I ever met has been into roleplaying and holovid games in some form or other, and Gogo's not really any different from the norm on that front, as far as I can tell."

"If you are sure…" Clank said, uncertainly."

"Ah, you worry too much! It'll be fine! You'll see!"

O o O o O​

Location: Builders' League United Construction Hauler, en route from Aridia to Veldin (going slow - well, slowish…)
Time: 6:00 PM, Wednesday

"I'm gonna be in the crew quarters for a while!" Spanner called out into the bay where Jack was still working as he left the crew lounge. "You probably don't wanna know why!"

"No," Jack agreed quietly to himself as he continued to make sure that all parts of tomorrow's plans were ready. "I rather suspect that I neither need nor desire to know what you are going to be doing for the next estimated fifty-eight seconds, Spanner. I expect, however, that anything after that is just padding out your time."

 

[Tangent]

Location: Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: 10:00 PM, Wednesday

"I have finished inspecting your A.S.S." Clank informed Widget, who was still scrubbing down sections of her Protosuit to clean out every last spec of mud, and looking over each part as she did so. "Other than having needed to be cleaned, it appears to be in good working order, with none of the stored contents missing or damaged."

"That's good," Widget replied as she started scrubbing a piece of Protosuit that was proving difficult to remove all the dirt and mud from. She was currently in the shorts and halter that comprised the Galactic Rangers physical training outfit (minus the shoes), which was just as grey as her issued undergarments, and also had the same Galactic Rangers logo. She hadn't really packed any civvies, since she was only going to be on Veldin for a few days at most, and she didn't want to get either of the uniforms she had brought along dirty while cleaning her armor.

"Do you require assistance?" Clank asked, setting Widget's new A.S.S. on the nightstand next to the hotel room's only bed. Not that he cared about that, as he didn't require sleep. Not that he couldn't do so if needed or desired, but for him (like most bots) it was more of an option than a necessity.

Not that Dr. Nefarious hadn't insisted that Clank get his own assigned bunk on the Phoenix and his own room in the Hall of Heroes once they had discovered that he had the capacity to dream (which was apparently a rare trait, even in bots that qualified as sophonts). Which reminded Clank that he really should schedule some of his downtime to actually try out that feature, as it was presumably a gift from whoever his real creators had been.

Now was not the time to do so, however.

"If you don't mind," Widget accepted her little brother's offer. "I kind of wish we had brought Bleep along, since Qwark said he could clean any outfit or armor to perfection."

"I think you mean Bloop," Clank corrected his big sister. "Bleep is the one who can cook and prepare restaurant quality meals. Also, both of them are specifically assigned to the Phoenix as crewbots. They would not have come."

Widget paused as she thought of something. "Oh yeah, they aren't actually Rangers like you are, are they? They don't leave the Phoenix and I don't think I've seen them attend any meetings even by telepresence. Do they even get paid?""

"They do," Clank confirmed. "I'm given to understand that their wages are quite generous, and include maintenance and memory backup benefits. And they do leave the Phoenix occasionally during their downtime, it's just that they are very specifically ship crew, with little desire to do anything else."

"Well, I'm glad they're happy with their jobs," Widget commented as she turned the section of armor she was currently working on over to continue cleaning it. "Now don't forget to make sure that the inside surfaces and connective pieces are clean too."

"I am aware of the issues," Clank informed Widget. "After all, unlike some Lombaxes I know, I read the manuals."

"Clank, I'm the only Lombax you… Heeeeeeeey!"

Clank chuckled as he and his sister continued to sanitize the Protosuit.

O o O o O​

Location: Wipeout Racecourse Ready Area, Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: 8:00 AM, Thursday

"So this is the Grav-sled I'll be using?" Widget asked as she looked over the wedge-shaped vehicle that had been painted in Galactic Rangers colors, complete with logo and the word "COMMANDO" printed on each side. It, like all Grav-sleds, bore a superficial resemblance to a fighter but lacked the systems required to enable them to actually leave orbit or make the jump to hyperspace. Not that she'd want to spend hours in hyperspace in such a cramped cockpit anyway.

For that matter, despite their control surfaces and the velocities they could achieve, all official track-legal Wipeout League Grav-sleds had their AG systems hardlocked to maintain a set distance above any surface, barring jumps. And while these locks could technically be removed, it couldn't be done from the cockpit (and race officials did random checks to make sure that they weren't removed prior to any race, or during any pitstop).

"Yes," the Rilgarian, one of the technicians Gadgetron had assigned to her for the event, confirmed. "This is the old G-AG X-7R34M prototype testbed Grav-sled that was retired just last year. It uses a mostly standard control layout, with some versatech systems added to better handle hot-swapping the weapon modules on the go, but everything but the basic guns and missile racks have been removed."

"I thought that this was going to be a non-combat race, due to the event being charity based?" Clank asked in concern.

"It is," the Rilgarian nodded, "and if this was like the one taking place on Novalis, all the weapon systems on everyone's sleds would either be locked down or removed. But this is Veldin, and we've come across a lot of old warbots and abandoned raider bots while setting up the track, so the league ruled to leave basic defenses in place just in case."

Widget popped open the cockpit and looked inside. "Yeah, other than the extra versatech console, these controls look to be the same as the one I trained on. I should be able to pilot this. So, why this one and not a G-AG 1550 Windcutter?"

"From what I understand, you and Veralux were slated to get matching Windcutters, but Old Man Lumos overrode the board when he found out who was racing. Said something along the lines of a Lombax being better able to appreciate a toy with more versatility, and it beat just scrapping the thing anyway."

"I'd complain about racial stereotyping, but this is pretty cool," Widget admitted.

"Not to mention that such a complaint would be hypocritical of you to be making," Clank stated.

"What?"

"Did you not admit last night that, in your experience, all Terachnoids are into roleplaying and holovid games? And you yourself said that this was an example of stereotyping."

"Is this about Gogo's supervillain thing? She's just playing around. Don't worry about it!"

"I was just citing that it would be hypocritical of you to complain about someone else stereotyping you because of your race," Clank clarified. "Gogo Neutronic's presumed proclivities are an entirely separate issue."

O o O o O​

Location: Tobruk Crater, Novalis
Time: 8:00 AM, Thursday

Shiv Helix and The Stig got into the aircar that had been rented (under an assumed identity that would be traced back to some random guy living on Tenemule), having just finished breakfast in yet another holonet cafe. The Stig would be dropping him off at the designated spot close (but not too close) to the Iron Hold prison so that he would have enough time to infiltrate the facility and get into a good position to exfiltrate Little Tony once Spanner started things on his end.

O o O o O​

Location: Builders' League United Construction Hauler, approaching Veldin (going slow - well, slowish…)
Time: 8:00 AM, Thursday

Jack slid into the pilot's seat on the bridge of the stolen construction hauler now that the ship was getting close to their destination, as there was no point in getting blindsided by traffic or some random asteroid or space debris that an autopilot wouldn't account for.

He'd make sure that Spanner was awake in a few hours, with enough time for a quick meal before dropping him onto the race track in the Monster-sled they had built together.

Well, overbuilt perhaps, as apparently the event was supposed to be strictly non-combat, which meant that any weapons systems the Grav-sleds may have had would have either been removed or locked down. But Spanner had wanted the Monster-sled to be tough enough to take some abuse before he vacated it, citing that it had to be at least durable enough to still function after being dropped onto the track, and still be able to do its job afterwards.

Which, to be fair, was a valid point.

Jack didn't want to be fair.

Not that he had anything against Spanner, per se, other than the all too high probability that he would assault Mr. Drek on a whim should they ever directly encounter one another, but that possibility was enough to motivate Jack towards arranging what he felt were appropriate contingencies.

He just had to be patient and make sure that these contingencies didn't interfere with the job Spanner had been assigned in the first place.

O o O o O​

Spanner snored away, sprawled out across one of the crew bunks, oblivious to the universe…

O o O o O​

Location: Wipeout Racecourse, Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: 12:50 PM, Thursday

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Oh, and I guess you too, Juanita," Dallas Wannamaker announced, looking somewhat scuffed up and rumbled, and sporting a shiner on his left eye with a matching bruise on his right cheek. The interviews with Princesses Peach and Daisy the previous evening had not gone at all well for him, and he never got a chance to speak with Commando before she disappeared into the hotel she was staying at.

"Screw you too, Dallas," Juanita Alvera said with a smile, looking as clean and pristine as when she had first come off the production line and received her first suit.

"If only," Dallas muttered under his breath before continuing. "As I'm sure many of our viewers know, today marks the first use of the official Wipeout League racecourse that has been built on the Kyzil Plateau on Veldin, as part of the charity event to help raise relief funds for those whose homes, health, and/or livelihoods were harmed by the recent BlargTech attack!"

"That's right, Dallas! And while the top core league competitors are evenly split between matching events on Kerwan and the new official track on Novalis, Veldin will be playing host to some of the top stars of the Elimination League, using their signature Cyber Sleds!"

"You are absolutely right, Juanita! Among our celebrity racers today are six of the most decorated combat pilots the Wipeout League has to offer! We have here today such notables as Maddison Hawk, whose Cyber Sled, Fireball, is considered by many to be one of the most rounded Grav-sleds of the Elimination League!"

"And let's not forget the honorable Marie Yamamoto in her signature Polar Star, Dallas!"

"Honor will only get you so far in the Elimination League, Juanita! Just ask our next racer, Rexer Ironside! Although we do have to wonder how he's putting up with the weapons restrictions in place for this particular event."

"Not well, I would imagine, Dallas! Although I imagine these restrictions will not have much effect at all on the performance of Alan Striker, hero of Megalopolis, in his signature Cyber Sled, Blue Lighting! The speed! The maneuverability! The flexibility in bed!"

"Are you talking about Striker or Blue Lightning, Jaunita?"

"Yes!"

"I hate you so much right now."

"You have no idea how much it warms my mechanical heart to hear you say so, Dallas."

O o O o O​

"Are Dallas Wannamaker and Juanita Alvera always like this?" Clank asked as he directed the pit-bots during their last minute checks of his sister's assigned Grav-sled.

"Near as I can tell, yes," Widget shrugged absently as she made sure that her Protosuit was properly set up in endurance mode. Not that she wanted to have to use those particular features, but the race was expected to last anywhere from three to five hours over the course of twelve laps on the longest track she'd ever been on. And even though she was making sure that she sensibly started with an empty bladder, it was going to be a long haul from start to finish.

"How are the water and nutrient reserves in your Protosuit?"

"Topped off and in the correct reservoirs," Widget informed her little brother with some slight exasperation over him asking this exact question for the third time so far. "And I made sure that the feed tubes were lined up to connect to the matching receiving tubes in my helmet when I put it on. I actually passed my Protosuit Survival and Safety training on my first go through after receiving my suit, Clank. I'll be fine."

"It is my right and duty to worry about your safety as your little brother," Clank retorted as he sent the pit-bots to checking over the spare parts and fuel reserves stored in their assigned pit.

"And that is just adorable," a female voice called out, causing the two to turn to face the newcomer. "Hi, I'm Amanda Bates. We'll be racing against each other soon, but I just wanted to meet Commando of the Galaxy Rangers ahead of time, since we might not have time after the event."

"Um… sure?" Widget tilted her head, then shook it and gathered herself before putting her hand out. "My actual name is Widget Razz, and this is my little brother, Clank."

"Pleased to meet you," Amanda said, first shaking Widget's hand and then Clank's. "I take it that he's the pilot of Big Guy?"

"Something like that, yes," Clank equivocated, once again following the advice of his teammates and, while not exactly lying, instead choosing not to correct someone else's mistaken perception of his UltraMech state.

"That is so cool! Can I get your autographs?"

After signing Amanda Bates' book and watching her leave, Widget and Clank looked at each other and then wordlessly set about double checking absolutely everything in the pit, from the Grav-sled, their assigned supplies, up to and even including each other.

Not that they had a lot of time left to do so before Widget had to get into her Grav-sled and report to the starting line, but one did not just casually encounter the Spider Queen of the Elimination League and not expect something shady had just happened under their noses.

The fact that neither of them found anything out of place did not really make either of them feel any better...

O o O o O​

Location: Wipeout Racecourse, Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: 1:00 PM, Thursday

"AND THEY'RE OFF!" Dallas Wannamaker announced as the racers got the greenlight.

"And it looks like Alan Striker is taking an early lead as usual, Dallas!"

"With Wrex Raisir hot on his afterburner, Juanita! And Amanda Bates following in his slipstream!"

"Things are not looking so well for either Hans Baird or Rexer Ironhide though, Dallas, as both are currently off to a (relatively) slow start and vying one another for a solid last place!"

"They really should have opted for switching to lighter Grav-sleds once they found out that this was a noncombat race, Juanita, but I guess they were just too used to popping their load at any racers that got ahead of them!"

"You would know, Dallas! But be that as it may, their decision to not switch up their rides may cost them any chance of winning this race!"

"Speaking of chances of winning, it looks like Commando has just passed Madison Hawk and Marie Yamamoto, slipping through right between them as they rounded the first turn!"

"Indeed she has, Dallas! I'm given to understand that the Grav-sled Commando is using is Gadgetron's previous testbed vehicle, the G-AG X-7R34M!, otherwise known to fans of the Gadgetron team as the X-Treme!"

"Don't you mean that it is now known as the Ex-Treme, Juanita? And while we're on the subject of Commando, I'm sure many of her growing fanbase, myself included, are very disappointed that we are unlikely to see a repeat of yesterday's alternative event during the hoverbike race, and the after show that followed!"

O o O o O​

"That's it, I'm gonna kill him," Widget muttered to herself even as she tried to put it out of her mind and focus on the race.

"That would be highly inadvisable," Clank replied over the comm. "I'm certain that a light to medium maiming would be more appropriate under these circumstances."

"I was being figurative, Clank, but good to know," Widget commented as she rounded another bend, managing to pass over three consecutive specialized Quick-equip booster pads as she came out of the turn. Amanda Bates' G-Spider was still visible up ahead, so Widget thought that she might have a chance to pass her if she could just keep lining up for the triple strips…

Assuming that Bates quit hitting them herself, that is.

O o O o O​

Location: Wipeout Racecourse, Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: 1:45 PM, Thursday

"Woah there! It looks like a construction hauler is passing low over the racecourse, Juanita!"

"Indeed it is, Dallas! And it looks like it's dropping something onto the… Ooh! That is really going to hurt Hans Baird's chances of winning now!"

"That is assuming that there's enough of him to recover from his now crushed Cyber Sled, the Centaur-2, Juanita!"

"I don't know what this mysterious new entry is playing at, Dallas! If I may remind everyone, including our new racer, this is not a combat elimination race, and this stunt would be questionable even then!"

"I'm sure it's just some new guy trying to set up his kayfabe for the Elimination League, Juanita. A new rival for Hans Baird, perhaps?"

"I'm not so sure, Dallas, given that the new contender has just speared Rexer Ironside's Crusher with some sort of towline and seems to be…"

"Are my eyes deceiving me, Juanita, or did the front end of that monster Grav-sled just open up to reveal what appears to be grinders and buzzsaws!?"

"Indeed it has, Dallas! And it looks like Rexor Ironside has hit his ejector seat at the very last moment before his Crusher has been crushed!"

O o O o O​

"Widget!" Clank's voice called over the comm, "a maniac has entered the race and appears to be intent on destroying everyone from behind!"

"I know, Clank! See if you can get the track's weapon pick-up pads activated, we need to be able to defend ourselves out here!"

"That would not work, Widget," Clank replied. "None of the weapon pick-up pads were stocked for this event!"

"So we just have the basic weapons we were left with in case of old warbots and raiders, with no reloads. Well ain't that just dandy…"

"I'm not sure your usage of the word dandy applies in this situation, Widget."

"I was being sarcastic!"

O o O o O​

Back at the track's maintenance pits, Clank was commandeering as many pit-bots as he could even as he continued to advise his big sister on the progress of the monster-sled tearing up the track behind the remaining racers.

Pit-bots were running over from all of the other pits, carrying parts, weapons, and ammunition, and fuel to another crew of pit-bots that were accepting everything given to them and assembling something very much like, but not actually a Grav-sled.

Which is to say, the beast being assembled would not be considered to be any more track legal than the monster it was intended to take down.

Not that Clank cared about how track legal his impromptu ride was ending up even as he climbed into the just completed custom cockpit.

After all, he wasn't here to race…

O o O o O​

Widget cursed to herself as Madison Hawk's Fireball was the next to fall to the Monster-sled. Apparently Hawk had tried to airbrake and slip behind the thing on the left, only for the Fireball to end up having its systems fried as it passed between the monster and the guide rails.

Hitting the all-call channel, Widget called out to the other racers. "This is Commando! Be advised: the intruder is using some sort of high powered mag-system between itself and the rails! Trying to let it pass you by hugging the rails is not going to work!"

"Acknowledged, Commando," several voices returned.

"Anyone having any luck getting them to unlock the weapon pads?" Alan Striker asked.

"That's a no-go, Striker," Widget replied. "The pads weren't stocked for this race."

There was some general cursing in response to this news.

"It's on me! It's on me!" Marie Yamamoto's voice cried out as she bobbed and weaved to avoid being speared from behind and pulled into the opening maw of the monster chasing them all.

"I'm okay!" Marie called out again. "The drag from opening that maw forces that thing to slow down, so if we can just avoid being captured by it's tether lines… HOLY FUCK! I just registered missile locks!"

There was general cursing at the explosion behind them, followed by several relieved sighs as they caught sight of Yamamoto's ejection chair arcing high behind them all.

O o O o O​

"Now hold on there!" a track official marched up to Clank's custom assembled Grav-sled as the pit-bots were attaching the last few requisitioned parts and topping off the fuel. "We already have one nutcase on the track! Just what do you think you're doing!?"

"Galactic Rangers business," Clank replied tersely as he mentally reviewed his preflight check. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

"Son, I don't know what you think that thing can do, but there's no way you'll reach them in time to be of any help except maybe after the fact! Just go with the rescue crews and help with the survivors…"

"I beg to differ," Clank informed the man, before concentrating, causing a white glow to envelope the hastily assembled Grav-sled just before it shot off down the track, faster than anything the track official had ever seen.

Well, this close to the ground, anyway.

O o O o O​

Widget cursed silently to herself as she noticed the monster closing in behind her. All too soon it would be in range to use its lines, and she knew that she wasn't as experienced as either Hawk or Yamamoto had been.

Still, if the monster got by her…

'WHAT THE FUCK!?" Widget cried out as Wrex Raisir's yellow Grav-sled raced past her from the front, firing its cannons and missiles the very moment she was no longer in the line of fire. There was an explosion and the sound of a horrific crash, but moments later the monster left the resulting cloud of smoke and flames, a little damaged and somewhat slowed down, but accelerating once again…

O o O o O​

Clank concentrated on maintaining the ideal line to pass over as many consecutive booster pads as he could manage, even as he continued to focus on keeping the temporal acceleration field that Dr. Nefarious had helped him discover running. He could not maintain the field for very long, especially spread out over an entire vehicle like this rather than just himself, so every bit of increased acceleration he could manage to grab while it was up counted.

And once it was down, he would be concentrating all that much harder just to stay on the track as his perceptions slowed back down to real time.

He heard everyone's voices over the comms, but could not risk sparing the processing power to understand them through the distorted time field lest it break his focus and concentration.

This was not going to be fun, but he had to save his big sister!

O o O o O​

"And he has his own afterburners," Widget noted in exasperation as the monster lit up from behind and noticeably accelerated, once again beginning to close the distance between them. Before then, there had been some hope that everyone else might be able to stay ahead and out of range by using the boost pad system, as the monster sled apparently did not have a compatible quick-equip receiver installed, as evidenced by the fact that the boost pads had no effect on it.

Noting a tight turn coming up ahead, with the accompanying incline at the bend of the track, Widget came to a decision.

"Wish me luck, guys, I'm gonna try something stupid!"

With that, she lined herself up, locking her missiles onto a specific section of the outside guide rail, fired, then immediately spun her Grav-sled and hit reverse just as she passed over a booster pad.

As her Grav-sled hit the opening and shot up into the air in a ballistic arc, she fired her canons into the monster in hopes of distracting whoever was piloting it into following her off the track…

O o O o O​

"Oh Hell no!" Spanner swore as the guns of the blue and grey Grav-sled strafed over his Monster-sled even as it left the track, somehow spinning back around the moment it's cannons were no longer able to keep him in their firing arc. "You ain't getting away after trying that stunt! I ain't havin' it!"

O o O o O​

"Oh goody," Widget commented, feeling an eerie sort of calm overtake her as she managed to land and race forward, no longer bound to the track. "He did follow me…"

"What did you do, Commando?" she heard Alan Striker ask over the comms.

"I shot him to hell and back then immediately left the track," Widget replied as she bobbed and weaved across and around the uneven terrain of the Kyzil Plateau.

"Hold tight! I'm turning around to support you!" Amanda Bates informed her.

"I'll be there too!" Alan Striker stated. "There's no way that monster can face down all three of us on unrestricted terrain!"

"That's a negative, guys," Widget countered. "Even if you could help, I'm familiar with the Kyzil Plateau and you're not. And you probably wouldn't like where I'm leading him."

"And where would that be?" Stiker asked.

"F Sector."

 

[Tangent]

Location: Sewers & Maintenance Tunnels, Blackwater City, Rilgar
Time: 1:28 PM, Thursday

Captain Qwark took a moment to sip from the hydration straw in his (rarely used) suit's helmet, glad he had brought it along with his gear even though fighting off a seemingly endless infestation of Ameboids beneath Blackwater City had not been in his itinerary for his visit to Rilgar at all. For one thing, it helped hold off the stench whenever he had to venture into a section of the sewers in order to root out a…

What did one call a group of Ameboids anyway? Dr. Nefarious would probably know, but he was still back on Kerwan, no doubt deep into whatever his current project was, or perhaps continuing Elaris' training as his assistant.

Qwark casually back handed a hyper-aggressive man-eating fish as he once again traversed a flooded section of the tunnels in order to get to the next suspected nest of Ameboids.

It wasn't even as if fighting Ameboids was particularly hard, or even scary. Just hit them with whatever weapon you had on hand enough times, or even just punch or kick them hard enough, until the resulting mini-Ameboids were finally too small to be self-sustaining. Using a Hydrosplacer to clear them out was even faster.

Still, while tedious and boring, this was less of a snorfest than standing around waiting to hand out prizes to amateur circuit hoverboard competitors would have been. Maybe if at least one of his Rangers could have participated at this level, or if this year's hopefuls would stop trash talking each other down long enough to have a reasonably intelligent conversation with them…

Yeah, okay, so even he would admit that his bar for reasonably intelligent conversation was set a bit on the low side, but these punks couldn't even clear that unless it had to do with hoverboarding!

Oh well, at least Qwark could take solace in the fact that all of his Rangers were probably having fun right now, even if he wasn't...

O o O o O​

Location: Hall of Heroes, Kerwan
Time: 1:35 PM, Thursday

"And this is my lab, where Elaris and I work on various projects when not on missions or needed to provide overwatch…"

Jimmy was over the moon. He went ahead and asked the robot out front for the quiz on asteroids out of a morbid sense of curiosity once he saw the out of order notice had been removed, and had ended up passing well enough that Dr. Nefarious himself had decided to give him a personal tour (well, with either a member of his family or one of his teachers or regular babysitters along, but still)!

And this still wouldn't be the best day of Jimmy's life…

O o O o O​

Location: Wipeout Racecourse, Novalis
Time: 1:38 PM, Thursday

"Hey, Cora?" Brax' voice came over the comm.

"I'm kind of busy, Brax," Cora responded as she rounded another bend and lined up to hit… No, she had a bad angle to hit the row of three booster pads, but the double coming up looked doable. "What is it?"

"Do you think we should get nicknames like Commando and Big Guy?"

"Seriously not the time, Brax…"

"I was thinking I could be Heavy, since I'm really strong and am basically the heavy weapons guy of the team anyway…"

"This is interesting and all, but how about we talk about this after the race, okay?"

"Oh, and you could be Assault!"

"Brax, I need to concentrate here, and you're not helping!"

"And Elaris can be Princess Purple, because she wears that crown thingy and is purple!"

"BRAX!"

"What?"

"SHUT UP AND LET ME FOCUS ON RACING! YOU'RE BEING VERY DISTRACTING!"

"Well, there's no need to yell about it…"

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: 2:15 PM, Thursday

"That's brave and all, Commando," Widget heard Amanda Bates say over the comm, "but Alan and I were experienced combat pilots of Grav-sleds long before either of us joined the Elimination League, while you've been a Galactic ranger for what? A couple of weeks now?"

"Amanda's right," Alan Striker added. "Piloting a Grav-sled through unfamiliar and potentially hostile terrain is hardly new to either of us. You're getting that assist whether you want it or not. Now let us give you a crash course in combat piloting in a ground effect vehicle."

"The first thing you should be aware of is that some Grav-sleds can basically travel in any orientation along the horizontal plane, regardless of their orientation" Amanda Bates explained. "In fact, my G-Spider was designed specifically with this in mind, and can travel and turn with near equal agility and speed in any direction."

"Your G-AG X-7R34M should have similar capabilities if I remember correctly," Alan interjected. "Although, like most sleds even with this ability, you will still be fastest and the most agile while facing forward along your vector of travel."

"I kind of did that already to get the asshole to follow me off the track," Widget stated in dry humor.

"Then the next thing you should probably be aware of is to avoid open terrain as much as possible until the enemy runs out of missiles to lock onto you with," Amanda instructed.

"Yeah, about that…" Widget commented tensely as she heard the telltale sound of the missile lock alert.

"DROP YOUR TAIL AND HIT YOUR REAR AIRBRAKES!" Alan yelled over the comm. Widget did so, causing an immediate plume of dust and gravel to shoot up behind her. She heard several explosions as her impromptu cloud of chaff tore apart the missiles that flew into it.

"It's okay!" Widget called out. "I'm still here! Thanks for the tip, it worked!"

"That's good kid," Alan replied, "but level out again unless you hear another missile lock. Tail-dipping airbrakes like that not only slows you down, but also runs the risk of clipping a rock or stump, which is no fun for anyone."

"See if you can lead the enemy into a maze of ravines and canyons, or anywhere where there are a lot of rock outcroppings," Amanda advised. "He's faster, but you're more maneuverable. Take advantage of that! Maliciously!"

"I'm coming up behind you, Spider Queen," Alan stated, "And I see the opening! Spread 'em NOW!"

"What do you… AAAAHHH!!! ALAN YOU BASTARD!"

"What happened?" Widget asked in concern.

"Ah, she's just upset because I didn't feel like slowing down just so she could go through the gap you left first."

"ALAN! YOU SHOT RIGHT BETWEEN MY G-SPIDER'S LEGS! YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN BOTH OF US KILLED!"

"That's what you said the last time I pulled that stunt too, and we're both still here, aren't we?"

"Impatient bastard!"

"Uh, guys? Could you… y'know… just not right now?" Widget interrupted their argument. "I mean, we still have an asshole that's deliberately trying to kill us after all."

"Fair point," Alan conceded.

"He's still an impatient bastard, but I guess I can punch his face in at the victory banquet," Amanda groused.

"Promises promises!"

"Could we not do that either? It's kind of pointless to taunt unless the enemy can hear you."

"And how do you know he isn't listening in right now?"

"Mostly because he just followed me into a ravine when your advice would have had him turning around to face you guys instead."

"Yeah, that's a pretty good indication," Alan admitted.

"Agreed," Amanda added.

O o O o O​

Spanner slowed down a bit as his Monster-sled sideswiped one of the ravine walls. He was having some control issues without the track's guide rails for his side-mounted mags systems to lock onto, and he was beginning to think that it wasn't the best idea to follow Commando off of the track at all, let alone into a ravine. Then again, it wasn't like anything her Grav-sled had could do more than minor damage, or she would have used it already.

Bitch didn't even have real chaff. He'd have to remember that trick she used later.

Still, Commando did make a serious tactical error in that she was trapped in a narrow lane agai…

"FUCK!"

The damned ravine had branches! Where the fuck was she!?

O o O o O​

Location: Iron Hold Penitentiary, Novalis
Time: 2:20 PM, Thursday

"Attention prisoners," Shiv heard the voice of who was most likely the current warden of Iron Hold over the intercom. "I'm sure you've noticed the mass exodus of the extra complement of Starwatch guards as they left prison grounds, and the rather large number of Starwatch ships leaving from our pads and the Tobruk Crater Spaceport. I assure you that they are merely engaging in a local in-system exercise and have not, in fact, left the system in response to the trouble reported to be occurring right now on Veldin.

"They will, in fact, still be readily available in system should anybody try to cause trouble locally here on Novalis and specifically here at Iron Hold Penitentiary, and will not actually be gone for roughly four hours at a minimum."

Shiv Helix chuckled to himself as he shook his head. He was still torn as to whether most wardens did this sort of thing due to gross incompetence from having gotten their jobs due to being someone's son, daughter, friend, or political supporter, or if it was their way of hinting at seeking a discrete kickback from any prisoner who actually managed to escape.

Shiv usually made a point of discretely sending these oh-so-helpful wardens something after the fact, so as to encourage this behavior just in case it was deliberate rather than accidental, and for the most part he considered it to be a good investment.

Granted, it wouldn't be the first time a warden had spread less than helpful misinformation either, and Shiv also made it a point to send these wardens special gifts after the fact as well. Only this time to discourage repeat behavior.

Still, given the timing and the mention of Veldin, it was highly probable that the Attention Whore was actually doing his part of the job, so Shiv decided to wait a bit longer to give the last of however many Starwatch ships that were actually leaving to enter hyperspace, and thus not be able to turn around until they emerged into normal space once again in about two hours.

Shiv could do an awful lot given a four hour window and freedom to move around in a prison with a set number of guards.

Okay, the last of the Starwatch ships should have entered hyperspace by now, so it was time to actually get to Little Tony's current location and get this breakout started…

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: 2:25 PM, Thursday

"We can see your dust plumes," Amanda stated. "Since the G-Spider is better at jumping gaps without a ramp, I will stay topside and harass the enemy from above."

"Where do you need me, Commando," Alan asked. "I'm fine with following you guys in and harassing the guy from the sides and rear, but there's no real point if you're leading him elsewhere."

"Actually, there's a bunch of old Warbot encampments on the near side of F Sector, just on the other side of these ravines. Care to rile them up a bit so that they're active once I lead a big juicy target right into them?"

"Assuming Alan doesn't get himself shot to Hell and back by teasing relics, that should work," Amanda voiced her opinion of the proposed plan.

"Aw, you should be used to that by now, Amy!"

"One: Don't call me Amy. Two: I am really looking forward to punching you out at the victory banquet."

O o O o O​

Clank's hands flew across the controls of his hastily assembled beast of a Grav-sled as his temporal acceleration field finally dropped and he fought to stay on the track and hit all the booster pa…

Oh dear, if what he was hearing over the comm was accurate, his sister and two other racers had chosen to take this combat off of the track and towards wherever this F Sector was.

Checking the navigation system, he noted the proper direction and then simply had his beast of a Grav-sled hop the rail.

No need to waste perfectly good ammunition when there was a far more deserving target waiting in the near future…

"Widget, I am on my way," Clank called out over the comm.

"What? How!? You don't have a sled!"

"I had the pit-bots build one for me," Clank replied.

"Uh, that's impressive and all kid," Alan said, "But we've got a good lead on you, and the parts in Commando's pit wouldn't be much more help even if you did get to the fight in time.

"Oh, I didn't just use the parts in my sister's pit," Clank stated. "I used all of the parts from all of the pits."

"Um, Commando?"

"Yes, Amanda?"

"Your little brother scares me…"

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 2:30 PM, Thursday

Jack, who had been monitoring several frequencies since this phase of the mission started, finally noted that the call for assistance from Veldin had finally gotten a response from Novalis stating that the Starwatch ships that had been posted there had just made the jump to hyperspace and were on their way.

Mr. Helix now had four hours at a minimum before those particular ships could return to Novalis (assuming that they turned around and re-entered hyperspace immediately upon arrival). Or three hours minimum if the Starwatch ships currently orbiting Kerwan after the attack decided to respond to something as insignificant as a jailbreak.

Which should be plenty of time for Mr. Helix to do his job, even if Little Tony ended up complicating things with violence and stupidity.

Which meant that Spanner, and the high probability of his assaulting Mr. Drek during the equally likely after party Mr. Drek would treat them all to for a first mission well done, was no longer necessary to the plan.

It was time for things to start going wrong for the overly aggressive Lombax.

Jack pushed a button and then proceeded to select a ship to make his own escape from Veldin.

Ooh! Mr. Stryker's personal Slipstream Cutter, with the single vehicle bay he used to haul around his Cyber Sled, Blue Lightning, looked to be an excellent choice!

It most likely had plenty of speed and maneuverability, and perhaps Mr. Drek and Victor Von Ion would let him keep it?

After it had been repainted and had its IFF signature changed, of course.

O o O o O​

Location: Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: 2:45 PM, Thursday

Spanner cursed as yet another thing started to go wrong in his Monster-sled.

First it had been the glitch in the forward sensors that had mislabeled that one ravine as being wide enough to pass through.

Only now he was missing the mag-boosters on both sides due to that, and the armor plating they had been under, being ripped off on the rocky walls.

He considered himself really lucky that he had been going fast enough to not get stuck, even if he had lost a lot of speed in the process.

"There you are!" Spanner called out in triumph, having finally caught sight of Commando's Grav-sled again. And the stupid bitch was even leaving the maze-like ravines and into open terrain again!

Okay, he could admit to himself that it had been a mistake to follow her into them in the first place, but now the claw was on the other foot!

"Now, decisions, decisions? Do I use the grapple lines and bring you to heel as the monster eats your toy? Or do I just say fuck-it and launch more missiles before you pick up enough speed to do the make-shift chaff trick again? I'm thinking missiles!"

Thumbing the switch to activate the targeting, Spanner instead heard the overheat warning when he tried to fire. "What the fuck!? I know I put in enough heat sinks to prevent a cook-off!"

O o O o O​

Location: F Sector, Kyzil Plateau, Veldin
Time: ??:?? ??, Probably Monday. It felt like a Monday. It has felt like a Monday for the past several decades.

"The big one is attacking!" Battalion Sergeant T-44 called out to his fellow warbots. "Shields up if you still have 'em and focus fire till it's down!"

"For the Captain!"

"For lubricant!"

"For my trading cards!"

As derelict warbots left behind to guard an outpost that was no longer even there, Bravo Squad weren't the dottiest bots abandoned in F Sector.

"For that rock I found the other day!"

But damn if they weren't close!

"It took out Sarge! Make him pay! FOR SARGE!"

"FOR SARGE!" Bravo Squad called out in one voice for the first time in decades.

O o O o O​

"Don't fire!" Widget ordered over the comm. "We really don't want to draw their attention away from the monster-sled!"

"Copy that," Alan answered back.

"Acknowledged," Amanda stated.

"Perhaps I can contact them for better coordination?" Clank suggested.

"NO, CLANK, DON'T…"

"HEY! WE GOT A NEW SARGE! FOR SARGE!"

"FOR SARGE!"

"Oh dear, they seem to think I'm their new sergeant."

"Clank, you idiot…"

 

[Tangent]

Location: F Sector, Veldin
Time: 2:50 PM, Thursday

Widget watched as the monster-sled dropped to the ground, having finally either suffered damage to its power systems or its gravity coils. She also noted that it was no longer firing either its cannons or missiles anymore.

Not that this seemed to deter the rather enthusiastic warbots

"Ah, Clank?"

"Yes, Widget?"

"If your new squad is actually taking orders from you, see if you can get them to stop firing and stand down, maybe? I don't think that thing's combat capable anymore."

"I never got to test out the battle-sled I made."

"We're in F Sector," Widget stated dryly. "I'm sure something will turn up by the time the authorities get here to pick up this asshole."

"We could always strap whoever it is to one of our sleds," Amanda Bates suggested.

"Now Amy, you know some of us are paid heroes," Alan Stryker chided.

"Stop calling me Amy!"

"Can we not start this again?" Widget requested, noting that the warbots had stopped firing and seemed to be assuming watchful guard positions. "So, Clank? Is it safe to approach the scene? Because we still have to get whoever is in that thing out where they can be secured."

"I will notify my… squad… that you are with me, and that you would like to capture whoever is inside that vehicle."

"That'd be just peachy, thanks."

O o O o O​

Widget slowly drifted her Grav-sled over to where the warbots were holding their defensive position, ready to hit the accelerator the instant it looked like any of them objected to her presence. Still, they seemed to be following her little brother's orders as if he really were their new sergeant…

Then again, that didn't really speak well of their mental faculties at the moment, but she was already here. And it wasn't like this would be the first phenomenally stupid thing she had done today.

Hopefully this one would work out too.

Once she was close enough, one of the warbots motioned her to a spot that left them between her and the wreckage they were now watching over, only now one of them turned to face her with a salute.

"Welcome, Lieutenant! Bravo Squad stands ready to assist you in securing the prisoner, should there actually be one to capture in there, Sir!"

"Ah, Clank?" Widget asked even as she returned the salute so that the crazy warbot would stop saluting her.

"Yes, Widget?"

"Did you happen to tell any of them that I was an officer? Because I think the only member of the team who actually uses a rank title is Captain Qwark."

"Duly noted, Sir!" the warbot who had spoken to her moments ago informed Widget.

"You have really good audio sensors for a bot who has had no maintenance for several years," Widget commented, turning her attention more fully towards the bot once again.

"Thank you, Sir! But we have been maintaining ourselves as instructed when we were left to guard this outpost!"

Widget looked around briefly, but saw no sign of even the remains of any sort of structure that might suggest that an outpost had once been here.

"To answer your question, Widget, I told them no such thing. They came to that conclusion on their own."

"Wonderful," Widget muttered under her breath, refraining from rubbing the bridge of her nose for the simple reason that her helmet's faceplate was in the way. "Okay, I came this far, so I may as well get this over with."

Popping the canopy, Widget carefully climbed out of the cockpit and hopped to the ground. "I'm Widget Razz of the Galactic Rangers, reporting in to capture whoever may be in the aggressor vehicle."

Oh, please let them accept that phrasing!

"Wait… Galactic Rangers?" the warbot she had been talking to seemed to hesitate, then looked her over more carefully before suddenly turning and calling out to the others. "Hey! The old Sarge was right! We weren't forgotten! They came back for us! They really did!"

"Yay!"

"Woo hoo!"

"Hoody hoo!"

"I can finally order new trading cards!"

"I can get an actual shelf for my pet rock!"

"We can finally get some real maintenance!"

"Fresh ammo!"

"Replacement shield generators!"

"Oil baths!"

"An actual outpost to guard!"

"A new assignment!"

"CRAYONS!"

"What the fuck did I just get myself into?" Widget stood there, nonplussed at the warbots' various reactions.

"Yep! Definitely a lieutenant," the warbot who had first spoken to her stated with confidence. "I'd recognise that new officer look anywhere! Welcome to Bravo Squad!"

O o O o O​

Location: Hall of Heroes, Aleero City, Kerwan
Time: 3:00 PM, Thursday

"And this wall commemorates all the previous teams that bore the Galactic Rangers' name," Dr. Nefarious informed Jimmy and his parents as they reached one of the last places on the impromptu tour he had set up for their guests. "Here we honor their memory and hope that we too will bear the name of the Galactic Rangers as well as any of our predecessors had."

"Wow…" the young Tharpod stared in awe at the wall, perhaps too young yet to realize just what such a memorial actually meant, but at least his parents seemed to be properly somber as they paid their respects.

Hmmm… That reminded him. Better make sure that Widget and Clank were scheduled for at least the brief course on the history and legacy of the Galactic Rangers. Lord knows the media couldn't be trusted to remember anything older than a week ago unless it went into syndication…

O o O o O​

Location: F Sector, Veldin
Time: 3:03 PM, Thursday

Widget approached the wreckage, flanked by two of the warbots while the other three repositioned themselves to cover them from a distance from one angle, while Clank and the two racers took up another position to provide a different angle of cover fire if needed.

Seeing movement through the cockpit window, but not seeing the pilot, Widget took up a position out of direct line of side slightly to the rear of the cockpit, and tapped the hull with her Omnimallet a couple of times before setting the head of it flat against the body of the wreckage and hitting a button. "I know you're alive in there. You may as well come out with your hands up and empty, or we're just going to peel this machine open and pull you out anyway."

"Don't you gotta read me my rights first, Ranger girl?" a male voice called out. Well, presumably male, as Widget had no idea what their species was just yet, and she wasn't going to silhouette herself against the cockpit canopy just to find out.

"Really? You're trying to pull that card? On Veldin?" Widget asked.

"Yes!"

"Okay then," Widget shrugged and looked briefly at the warbots with her, then turned her head back towards the canopy. "You're options right now are as follows: You can come out with your arms up and gripping appendages empty; or we'll pull whatever's left of you out of the wreckage after we peel it open."

"That sounds worse than before! What happened to reading me my rights?"

"I'm a chartered hero, not a cop. You'll get your rights read to you when I turn you over. Since you seem to want your rights read to you, I'm going to be turning you over to the authorities here on Veldin as opposed to waiting for Starwatch to show up. And I'll be sure to remind them that you want your rights read to you when I hand you off."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" the voice taunted back.

"You are aware that Veldin has been a perpetually frontier world for the past… How many generations of attempted colonies has it been now?"

"To the best of my knowledge, Veldin had had seventeen generations worth of attempted colonies as of the time of our posting, Sir!" one of the warbots standing with her stated.

"Huh. That's actually more colonization attempts than I had thought," Widget admitted. "Anyway, the current colony is just barely actually recovering from the brink of failure for once, because the greater galaxy is actually paying attention for a change, and then you drop in and disrupt the only charity event Veldin has ever seen. I'm sure the sheriff will be really happy to read you your rights real personal like."

"I, uh… Can I change my mind?"

"Nope! Calling the sheriff's office now!" Widget stated cheerfully. "Hey, Clank, could patch me through to the Veldin Sheriff's Office?"

"Certainly," Clank's voice replied over the comm.

"Sheriff's Office," a gruff voice spoke over the comm tersely. "Taunty speaking. Make it quick, we're in the middle of a situation here…"

"Depu?" Widget interjected, "This is Widget…"

"Are you okay? If you need reinforcements, Starwatch has been called and they are on their way from Novalis, so just hold tight and keep your…"

"Actually, I got the perp right here, still refusing to come out of what's left of his monster-sled."

"Damn, girl! How'd you manage that!? I saw what that thing could shrug off, and we don't have anything on Veldin that could take it out!"

"Nothing in the colony, you mean. We led Mr. Idiot here into one of the old warbot encampments on the near side of F Sector."

"If you need reinforcements to get you out of there, as I said, Starwatch has already been called and they should be here within a couple of hours."

"Look, could you just put Sheriff Marshal General on the comm?"

"Marshal's dead, Widget."

"What!? When!?"

"He died near the end of the BlargTech attack, when Victor Von Ion broke Little Tony out of holding."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Depu."

"Yeah, me too, Widget."

"Has the service been held yet?"

"Not yet. It's going to be in a few days, if you can stick around for it."

"So… You the new sheriff then?"

"Yeah, that's right. At least for now, anyway. The council is still deciding on whether or not to make it official."

"Would you like to come read this guy his rights before Starwatch gets here?"

"And why would I want to go anywhere near F Sector when Starwatch can do that when they get here? You just admitted that you led the perp into a camp of warbots."

"They're friendly?"

"Would you like me to schedule an appointment with a therapist? Because that right there? That's crazy talk."

Widget noticed the canopy seal pop slightly away from the fuselage. "Hold on for a moment."

Hitting a different button on her Omnimallet, Widget whipped around in a thrust assisted 360 degree spin and hit the canopy as hard as she could, tearing it halfway off of its hinges from the impact. "Hi there! Glad you decided to join us, Mr. Bad Guy! Now come out nice and slow, hands high and empty like we said, m'kay?"

"Allright, allright! I'm coming out! No need to knock my head off!"

"That has yet to be determined," One of the warbots stated.

"Er… Are you sure I can't just wait in here after all?"

"No," Widget stated. "Okay, boys, he's had more than enough time to have come out on his own if he was going to. Pull him out."

"Yes, Sir!" the two warbots cheerfully complied, tearing the canopy the rest of the way off of its hinges and reaching inside to pull out…

"A Lombax!?" Widget could not believe it. "You mean to tell me that the first actual Lombax I've ever met is just some rando maniac getting his jollies by attacking charity events?"

"Well, excuuuuuuuse me, Princess Snowball! Some of us didn't get to live in nice safe cushy palaces, eating fancy expensive meals every day, and the best education money can buy! Captain Dork probably made good bank on the Bolts your mommy and daddy must have paid for him to take you onto his team of sellouts!"

"Is that what you think?" Widget responded, her right eye twitching in restrained fury. "That I'm some pampered spoiled brat whose parents paid her way through life? Well, listen up, Buttercup, 'cause I'm only going to tell you once! I grew up as a Scavenger Rat right here on Veldin, fighting over scrap and trash just to get enough Bolts to live on! My palace was whatever pile of rocks or garbage I could defend for maybe one night at a time. My fancy meals were whenever I had enough bolts to hit the Galaxy Burger in town, otherwise it was just whatever I could catch! My education up to just a few years ago was laughable, but I did manage to learn my letters and numbers, which is more than I can say for some. And my Dad is a starship mechanic who the juvie court judge assigned custody of me to after I tried to steal from the scrapyard behind his garage! As far as I know, my real parents, whoever they may have been once upon a time, never even set one foot on the refugee ship that brought me to Veldin in the first place!

"So don't you go crying some fucking sob story about how much harder you had it than everybody else in the galaxy, or try to tell me I've had it soft, 'cause I'm a Veldin brat through and through and I fucking turned out fine!"

"I am so turned on right now..."

"AAAARGH!!! WHY DO I ALWAYS SEEM TO ATTRACT THE WEIRDOS!?"

"I'd say because you're you, Widget," Sheriff pro tem Depu Taunty's voice was heard over the comm, which Widget realized she had left open.

"Um, Sir? You really shouldn't be hitting your head against strange wreckage…"

 

[Tangent]

Location: F Sector, Veldin
Time: 4:35 PM, Thursday

"This is Captain Sasha Phyronix of the Starwatch Rangers, calling Widget Razz of the Galactic Rangers," Widget heard over the comm. "Come in, Widget Razz. Do you Read me?"

"Widget here."

"I am about to send a dropship to your current location. Is there a good LZ, or should they be prepared to come in hot?"

Widget took a moment to realize that LZ meant Landing Zone, then responded. "The current location is secured by friendly warbots identifying themselves as Bravo Squad, but be prepared for a hot entry anyway, just in case as were still within F Sector and they are not the only warbot encampment in the region."

"Acknowledged. The dropship will be there shortly."

"I'D LIKE TO COMPLAIN THAT THE STUPID BOTS TOOK ALL MY CLOTHES!" Spanner helpfully yelled out before the call could be ended.

"As our new lieutenant has expressed a desire for you to remain in reasonably good health, for some inexplicable reason, and our new sergeant has expressed a perfectly reasonable desire to keep our lieutenant alive, we feel that we took all reasonable measures to ensure her safety while securing you for transfer," one of the warbots patiently explained.

"Yeah!" another warbot put in. "Be happy the Lieutenant stopped us from removing your feet! I still say those claws look too dangerous to permit on a hostile anywhere near one of our officers!"

Widget really wished she could remove her helmet so that she could rub the bridge of her nose out of frustration. "And that's why you three are guarding him way over there, while these two are guarding me way over here. Several meters outside of his estimated leaping range, I might add. And you incinerated his clothing."

"Biological contaminants were detected! We had to ensure your safety!"

"You also blew up the rest of his vehicle."

"That was fun!" another warbot called out, then flinched back as she glared at it. "I mean, the unknown vehicle model could have contained an undetected threat to your safety!"

"What's your designation?" Widget demanded.

"C-44! Demolitions and Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Sir!"

"Clank, make a note of it, because that's going in the report."

"So noted," the tiny bot replied, still nested in the cockpit of the beast of a Grav-sled he had the pit-bots assemble for him back at the race track. "Given the estimated time of arrival for the dropship, my window of opportunity for actually testing my vehicle is rapidly diminishing. So please, make my day and try to cause trouble before they arrive to take you into custody. I would greatly appreciate it."

"I'm going to have to agree with Amy, Commando. Your little brother is scary."

"STOP CALLING ME AMY, ALAN! WE'RE NOT DATING ANYMORE!"

"Well, it sounds like you're having an… experience... down there," Widget heard Captain Phyronix state in an amused sounding tone over the comm. Which she realized that she had once again left active.

Widget trudged over to where Clank's giant Grav-sled was and slowly began to beat her head against it…

O o O o O​

Widget watched on as the Starguard Rangers kept glancing nervously at the warbots while they went about securing the naked male Lombax for transport.

Heavy cuffs? Check.

Arms secured behind the perps back? Check.

Convenient towel providing emergency modesty for said naked Lombax? Mysteriously absent.

"Clank?"

"Yes, Widget?"

"Remind me to suggest that a basic towel be added to our standard emergency kit."

"Agreed. And Widget?"

"Yes, Clank?"

"I notice that further trouble has not emerged from being in F Sector, and we are about to leave."

"Okay, so I was wrong. We'll just have to ask if we can keep the… the… whatever kind of Grav-sled you made there for testing, okay?"

"That is all I am asking."

"All currently functional members of Bravo Squad present and accountable, Sir!" one of the warbots announced, drawing their attention to the fact that the bots had formed a line with one of them off to one side. "We're ready to move out on your command!"

"I am so looking forward to proper maintenance!" another one said.

"I have my rock, so I'm ready!"

"It'll be nice to have lubricant that we didn't have to process from squashed horny toads!"

Widget looked at Clank where he was still sitting in his beast of a Grav-sled, and he just looked right back at her.

"Oh dear," was all Clank had to say on the matter.

"Well, that looks like a you problem," Amanda Bates said. "So I'm outta here! Have fun now!"

"I'd stay, but drifting alongside warbots marching along at a tediously slow pace sounds very frustrating when I can just zip over to the colony much faster on my own. I'll send someone to meet you part way with a hovertruck!"

And, with that, the two professional racers zoomed off towards the colony in their Cyber Sleds.

"Assholes," Widget muttered as she turned to head for her own Grav-sled, not looking forward to the tedium of the trip Alan had just predicted would be in her immediate future.

O o O o O​

Location: F Sector, Veldin
Time: 9:26 PM, Thursday

Widget noticed the Veldin Police Skycar oh so conveniently parked along their route as they finally drew close to the colony.

"Hold position," Widget called out to Clank and the warbots. "I'm going to go see what's up." So saying, she double checked to make sure that her Grav-sled's weapons systems were locked down, then drifted forward at a slightly faster speed, carefully making sure that at no time were the forward guns in the nose ever directly pointed at the skycar.

Depu Taunty could get pretty snippy about weapons safety protocols, and she was already dreading the no doubt long conversation that was about to happen right when all she wanted to do was get back to the hotel, send for room service while she showered, eat, then sleep for a day or three…

Stopping a short distance from the skycar, Widget popped her canopy, climbed out, and then finally took off her helmet, setting it on the Grav-sled beside her.

Only then did Sheriff pro tem Depu Taunty step out of his skycar and approach her. "Evening, Widget."

"Hi, Depu!" Widget replied with strained and blatantly false cheer. "I have a question."

"I'm listening."

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE HOVERTRUCK ALAN STRIKER WAS SUPPOSED TO SEND TO PICK UP THESE SLOWPOKES!?"

"Oh well, now that's a simple one, Widget," Taunty drawled. "Nobody wanted to come out to meet a potentially deranged squad of warbots. Seems easy enough to understand from that point of view."

"Uhuh," Widget huffed in defeat at that peerless logic.

"Now I do haveta ask: Why'd ya bring them with you?"

"Turns out they're claiming to be part of the Galactic Rangers. I couldn't very well leave them back there."

"I guess we'll just have to disagree on that point, but fair enough. Just head over to… I dunno… Bay 35 is close enough I guess, and right on the edge of town. I'll have somebody bring over food, water, and a cot."

"You're an asshole, you know that?"

"Now I know you don't really mean that, Widget…"

"Yes I do. You haven't answered any of my calls since Starwatch left!"

"I was busy."

"Doing what? Eating donuts?"

"Now, Widget, you know darn well I'm allergic to pastry!" Taunty admonished. "And if you must know, I was in a big conference call with Starwatch and the police on Novalis. Seems someone broke Little Tony out of prison again. And it was done while Starwatch was stuck in hyperspace on the way here."

"So you're saying that this might have been part of a plot by BlargTech?" Widget asked in confusion, her irritation forgotten. "What could be so important about Little Tony? I mean, sure he's strong and tough, but he's also a moron. BlargTech can pretty much get dumb muscle anywhere, so why him?"

"That's what took so long. Nobody could figure out why they'd bother breaking Little Tony out twice."

"Whatever," Widget huffed dismissively. "Bay 52 you said?"

"Bay 35," Taunty corrected. "The one near the edge of the colony, not the one near the hotel strip."

"Right, right…"

"And Widget?"

"Yes, Depu?"

"Go around the town, not through it."

"Fine," Widget conceded in exasperation.

O o O o O​

Location: Bay 35, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 3:16 AM, Friday

"Bwah? Whazzapn?" Widget asked blearily from her cot as two tall figures stood over her.

"Get her into the ship and help her get cleaned up and into her bunk," Dr. Nefarious instructed Elaris, who was attempting to help Widget to her feet.

Widget, for her part, was doing her best impression of a boneless cat, having drifted off to sleep again upon realizing that she wasn't in any immediate danger.

"Oh for the love of…" Nefarious muttered. "Clank."

"Yes, Dr. Nefarious?"

"I'm going to check over Bravo Squad out here before we let them onto the ship. While I'm doing this, go into the Phoenix and then into either dropship. I installed the modifications we discussed into their Quick-equip pads."

"You mean..?"

"Yes. Those modifications. Now hurry up, because I think Elaris just trapped herself under a Lombax that only weighs maybe two thirds what she does."

"I'm okay!" Elaris called out from where she lay on the floor next to the cot, under Widget who was once again doing her impression of a limpet as she snored away. "Oh, jeeze, Widget! You reek!"

O o O o O​

Location: The Phoenix, Bay 35, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 8:00 AM, Friday

Widget woke up on what she immediately recognized to be her bunk aboard the Phoenix. Which was way more comfortable than the cot had been. She stretched where she lay for a moment and then sat up, swinging her bare feet out over the edge of her bunk.

"Oh, hey, you're awake!" Elaris greeted her cheerfully. "We were kind of wondering if you'd sleep longer, because you were beyond exhausted when we arrived."

"Were you the one who helped me wash up and put me to bed?"

"Yes, actually. Cora and Brax were already in hyperspace on their way back to Kerwan when the Captain made the call for us all to meet you here, so they'll be a bit longer. He himself arrived maybe an hour to an hour and a half ago, I think? Anyway, he and Dr. Nefarious are talking over everything that happened yesterday in the galley. If we hurry, there may even be breakfast left!"

Widget was already leaving the crew quarters and heading straight for the galley before Elaris had finished the word breakfast.

O o O o O​

Widget beelined her way to the counter the moment she entered the galley, loaded up a plate with eggs, sausages, flapjacks, a cup of fruit, and oh hey that also looked edible, before grabbing a set of flatware and heading for the table.

She was well into her second, wonderfully warm flapjack with melted butter and obel syrup when she noticed that Qwark and Nefarious had stopped talking and were staring at her.

"Um… Did I interrupt something?" Widget asked.

"I, ah… Think you forgot something," Captain Qwark stated awkwardly.

Widget blinked, then looked down.

Then she was once again racing through the corridors of the Phoenix. "ELARIS! I OWN PAJAMAS AND UNDERWEAR FOR A REASON!"

"Bleep?"

"Yes Dr. Nefarious?"

"Could you put Widget's breakfast in the warmer? I imagine that she's going to want to finish it once she's done throttling my assistant."

"I'll just prepare her something fresh, Sir," Bleep stated. "She's going to want some comfort food after that, and reheated flapjacks are not going to suffice."

O o O o O​

Fully dressed and fed, Widget joined the rest of the Rangers, minus Cora and Brax of course, in the maintenance bay attached to the hangar. Where she saw Bravo Squad and…

"Clank? Is that you?"

The shiny chrome and gunmetal warbot that looked like a scaled down and better proportioned version of her little brother's UltraMech state turned his attention away from the other warbots to look at her. "Yes, Widget. Dr. Nefarious finished making modified versions of the conversion device and had installed the first two in the Quick-equip pads in the drop ships. Do you like it?"

"Looking good, Clank!"

"Thank you."

"Sarge is amazing!" one of the other warbots said.

"Copy that!" another one agreed.

"Doc is a little scary though," yet another one stated.

"I miss my gun already," the second one spoke up again.

"At least he let me keep my pet rock, Rock!" one of the ones who hadn't spoken yet put in.

Widget noticed that each of the Bravo Squad warbots were currently missing the gun half of their left arms. "Maintenance and upgrades?" she asked.

"Maintenance and upgrades!" Bravo Squad confirmed cheerfully.

"Why don't you all see about getting your names or designations painted on you somewhere while you're at it? I hate to say it, but you all look alike to me. Which would be fine if you all had the exact same skills and abilities, but apparently you don't."

"Yes, Sir!" Bravo Squad agreed with a salute before turning to each other and beginning to discuss potential paintjobs and whether or not they should go for a coordinated look or attempt to be even more individualistic so as to help the officers tell them apart better...

O o O o O​

Location:The Phoenix, Bay 35, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 10:36 AM, Friday

Cora and Brax entered the crew quarters of the Phoenix, having finally arrived on Veldin via a Starbus. And the first thing they noticed was Elaris dangling from one of the overhead support beams by a swingshot cable. Which was also securing her arms against her torso.

"Oh, hi, Brax, Cora! I don't suppose either of you would be interested in getting me down from here?"

"That depends, Princess Purple…"

"Brax!" Cora snapped. "We are not using those names you came up with back on Novalis!"

"But they're good names!"

"No, they are not!"

"They all fit! The Captain doesn't need one of course, but Doc is Doc, you're Assault, I'm Heavy, and Miss Pinata here is Princess Purple!"

"Um… Could either of you let me down?"

"Not now, Elaris. I've got to explain to Brax, once again, why he can't just pick nicknames for everyone."

"You're just mad because you came in Ninth Place."

"THERE WERE ONLY EIGHT GRAV-SLEDS IN THE RACE! OF COURSE I'M PISSED! SOME ASSHOLE KEPT DISTRACTING ME WITH A STUPID CONVERSATION ABOUT NICKNAMES!"

"But…"

"No! You don't get to pick anybody's nicknames after that! Now come on, let's go find the others…"

"Um, Cora? Brax? Don't you think you're forgetting something? Guys? GUYS!? PLEASE LET ME DOWN!"

Once again alone in the crew quarters, Elaris spun slowly in place dangling at the end of the swingshot line.

"Ninety-nine bottles of FOOF on the wall ~ Ninety-nine bottles of FOOF! Take one down, pass it around ~ No more bottles of FOOF or a wall… You know, for a timewasting song, Ninety-Nine Bottles of FOOF is way too short. There has to be a longer version of it somewhere..."

 

[Tangent]

Location: Temporary Sheriff's Office, Oko Plaza, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 11:00 AM, Friday

"And this is the last of the sophonts found in and among the wreckage of the ship that dropped the aggressor vehicle into the charity race, Sheriff Taunty," Captain Sasha Phyronix stated as the last group was marched into the makeshift court hall.

"And like all the others, I recognize every last one of them, and not one of them has been off Veldin even once in their entire lives. I don't see how any of them could have been working with this Spanner fellow, except maybe by accident, and none of them are currently wanted for anything serious enough to merit taking up space in what few cells we have left after the attack."

"I guess that's it then," Sasha said, as yet another lead dried up before it actually went anywhere.

"Eh, not quite," Sheriff pro tem Taunty drawled, and then turned to address the final group of former suspects. "Now listen up! You all check out this time, so you're free to go if'n y'all want. You can even go right back to salvaging that ship y'all were swarmin' all over if ya want, since Starwatch got what they needed from it and Builders' League United wrote it off as a loss due to piracy, so nobody's gonna hassle you over it 'cept each other.

"That said, Builders' League United expressed an interest in possibly hirin' a bunch of ya, seeing as you had the motivation and wherewithal to strip so much of their former ship down in such a short time. So anyone interested in on the job trainin' should be here around noon on Monday to speak to their rep when he or she gets here. Impress them, and you might actually end up with a job before the day is out. Now pass the word on when ya leave, would ya? I know not all of you can read the job postings on the notice boards."

There was a general cheer from the rapidly dispersing Salvage Rats as they quickly left the room before the former deputy changed his mind.

"That was an interesting way to handle things," Sasha noted.

"It's the way Sheriff Marshal would have wanted it done," Tanty stated. "Personally, if the jailhouse wasn't in ruins, I'd have had most of 'em in holding at least overnight if not for a day or two longer just for the general trouble they get up to, but like I said, not one of them has done anything that merits takin' up valuable space in what few remaining cells that we have."

"I suppose that it doesn't hurt that BLU might be taking them off your hands soon."

"Maybe, maybe not," Taunty shrugged. "BLU is probably going to employ a lot of them locally in the rebuilding effort, and then take only those who have proven themselves worth the effort when they finally pull out. But it'll give 'em hope and maybe they'll try harder for it.

"After all, way back when I first laid eyes on Widget when I caught her trying to steal scrap from out behind where Grim's place used to be, I'd have sworn up and down that the little monster'd grow up to be a space pirate. Bit my wrist once and my ankles twice 'fore I got her into the back of my skycar, and swore fit to make a longshoreman blush. Pure evil in rags, I'd have said, and Grim's a saint for convincing her to put shoes on over those claws of hers. Left gashes in my boots, they did. And the back of my seat…

"Anyhow, I don't know what spark of decency Marshal somehow saw in her, but he pushed for leniency at her trial in juvie court, and even convinced Ol' Grim, the Fongoid she tried to steal from, to agree to be her guardian. An' now look at her: a Galactic Ranger and from what I can tell workin' up to be a pretty good one at that. Still a might rough around the edges perhaps, but damn if that tiny spark Marshal saw grew into somethin' resemblin' a proper fire."

Sheriff pro tem Taunty sighed. "I didn't always see eye to eye with how Marshal did things. Still don't, for a lot of things. But I figure that if there's even a small chance that any of those Scavenger Rats we just let walk out those doors have that same sort of tiny spark that Widget had, then I owe it to Marshal to give those sparks a chance to blaze as bright as they can so they have some chance at a future."

"So this Widget left a good impression on you then?"

"Actually," Taunty grinned, "I count it as a plus that I walked away from talkin' with her last night without a new set of teeth marks somewhere on my body. That girl used to be as mean as horny toads when she was pissed, and just about as polite."

O o O o O​

Location: The Phoenix, Bay 35, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 11:00 AM, Friday

Widget was losing herself in tweaking one of the detached weapon arms from the Bravo Squad warbots her little brother had accidentally recruited due to an accident of history. Which was to say that neither Clank nor she had known that there had ever been previous iterations of the Galactic Rangers, nor that Captain Qwark had adopted the old logo when he reactivated the charter in order to create his version of the team.

Which actually fit the pattern of behavior she was beginning to recognize from the Captain, which was to acquire something for the team because it was either cool or useful, but then make an odd decision about it that would later prove to be either very awkward, annoying, or impossibly lucky.

She was still undecided as to whether the bizarre chain of events that had led to Bravo Squad adopting Clank as their new sergeant, and thus the rest of the team as their officers by default, was awkward, annoying, impossibly lucky, or (as she was increasingly suspecting), all three.

"I hear you had a bit of an adventure," Widget heard Cora say, causing her to look up as Cora and Brax entered the maintenance bay.

"You could say that, yes," Widget replied, turning her attention back to the weapon she was working on, since it wasn't really at a stage where she felt comfortable setting it aside.

"Um…" Brax hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Why is there what looks like a group of one armed warbots in the corner looking over… color pallets?"

"That would because there is a group of one armed warbots in the corner, and they are looking over color pallets," Widget snarked absently as she made yet another adjustment to the arm cannon.

"But why?" Brax asked.

"I think they're still deciding whether to go with a single unified paint theme with just their designations to identify them, or to go with individual themes with just the logo to identify them as being part of the Galactic Rangers,"

"Er… That doesn't… um…"

"I think what Brax is trying to ask is why do we suddenly have a squad of warbots at all," Cora clarified.

"Near as I can tell?" Widget shrugged as she looked up from the weapon she was working on again. "Sheer dumb luck and stupidity involving a chain of events that should not have happened in a sane universe."

"Yup!" one of the warbots spoke up, turning his attention from the discussion he was having with his squadmates. "That sounds about right, Sir!"

"Did that warbot just call you Sir?" Cora couldn't help but ask.

"They seem to think I'm their new lieutenant for some reason that makes even less sense than them deciding that Clank is their new sergeant."

"You keep saying that, Sir," the warbot continued, "but we can't help but notice that you are looking after us anyway."

"With as long as you've all gone without more than what little self-maintenance you could do out there? And then finding out that you're all apparently legacy members from the previous team? I wasn't about to just leave you out there! Especially not after how you helped us take down and capture that dangerous idiot, Spanner."

"And that's what makes you a good lieutenant, Sir!"

"Hey," Brax interjected as he noticed what Widget was working on. "Are you adding a grenade launcher to that arm cannon?"

"It's for Fusion Bombs, mostly," Widget informed them, holding up the dummy bomb she was using to make sure that she got the proportions right. "But I suppose it can easily be used with other types of bombs and grenades. I'm leaving a space to install a cheap A.S.S. ammo selector so that C-44 can swap between what types of bombs he wants to use for any given shot.

"And that's why you're a great lieutenant, Sir!" a different warbot, presumably C-44, cheerfully called out.

"Uhuh," Cora nodded uncertainly. "On a different note, do we want to know why Elaris is hanging from a swingshot line in the crew quarters?"

"I'd rather you didn't," Widget stated as she went back to working on the arm cannon.

"I'll just go check the security logs then," Brax stated as he turned to leave.

"Wait, don't…" Widget half stood up, but hesitated, torn between chasing after Brax and making sure not to leave a potentially dangerous weapon laying around unsecured.

"Well, it looks like you're busy," Cora teased as she too turned to leave, "So I'll just go help Brax find the right footage."

"GUYS! WAIT!" Widget yelled as they left. "NO FAIR!"

O o O o O​

Location: BlargTech Flagship, Deep Space
Time: 11:00 AM, Friday

"Thank you so much for having me and the boys broken out, Mr. Drek Sir," Drek smiled indulgently as Little Tony thanked him profusely. Not that the oversized Cazar was actually important or integral to any plan, being nothing more than dumb muscle, but it was always nice to be appreciated by the minions.

"Why wouldn't I have the spokesperson of our new planet rescued?" Drek asked kindly, perpetuating the implied but otherwise blatantly false importance of Little Tony's role in his plans. "You're a part of the BlargTech family now! Now why don't you and the boys go get cleaned up, and then I'll treat you all to a nice lunch to celebrate your hard won freedom?"

"You got it, Boss!" Little Tony agreed, then turned to follow the dismissed troops out of the conference room.

Turning his attention to the remaining figures in the room, Drek addressed Shiv Helix. "While it wasn't part of your initial contract, the extra troops you freed during your break out of Little Tony is a perfectly acceptable bonus objective."

"Glad you think so, Mr. Drek," Shiv stated. "I was thinking a thousand each would suffice as a bonus payout."

"Sure," Drek said agreeably, then turned more serious. "If I had stated that as a bonus objective ahead of time, instead of you risking the mission for a side objective I hadn't even asked for. Fifty Bolts each, no more."

"Ah, but those are troops you don't have to pay the expense of training up replacements for. Nine hundred each, and not a Bolt less."

Drek and Helix settled into an enjoyable bit of haggling, eventually settling on seven hundred Bolts for each extra trooper freed this time, with a thousand bolts each agreed upon as an acceptable bonus payout for such during any similar breakout called for in any future contracts.

The Stig, as seemed to be his norm, said nothing as he joined them when they left to join Little Tony and the freed troopers for the party.

O o O o O​

Location: The Phoenix, Bay 35, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 11:00 AM, Friday

Clank was in the hangar, going over the custom built oversized Grav-sled that he had the pit-bots assemble for him yesterday. Bloop was on hand with a datapad, recording every little detail as they went over the machine, as the Wipeout League had informed them that, while most of the sponsors he had taken parts from were fine with him grabbing parts in the line of duty, only two had agreed to actually let him keep any of what had went into his machine without paying. Even then it was only one or two signature pieces per sponsor and not everything he had the pit-bots take from their work pits.

And he didn't have nearly enough Bolts in his account to pay for everything he used (he had checked), and while he might easily get that much in the near future, it wouldn't be likely to happen until after they left Veldin.

And, no, he couldn't get an advance on his pay just for this.

The best he could hope for was what he got: an agreement from the Wipeout League to let the Galactic Rangers log what went into his machine and how it all went together, and for the League itself to hold onto it as a neutral party for him for up to a year before they took it apart and sent the parts back to all of the various sponsors.

Testing it out in holosims would have to do until then. And for that, he needed verifiable data for Dr. Nefarious to program the sim from that didn't require his presence. Hence what he and Bloop were doing in the ship's hangar bay right now.

Noting the two reporters and their camera-bots walking up the rear access ramp as if they owned the ship, Clank left Bloop to continue recording details and making notes, trusting him to do a good job while he saw what the reporters wanted. He met them moments later, with the pair having stopped just on the other side of the security field.

"Hello, little guy, I'm…"

"Dallas Wannamaker, I know," Clank interrupted, annoyed. Dallas preened for a moment right before Clank continued. "I believe my sister has expressed an interest in inflicting grievous bodily harm upon your person. Please stay there while I go get her."

"Aheh… I'm sure she was just exaggerating..?" Dallas implied hopefully.

"I should hope so, considering her actual statement was that she was going to kill you. I suggested a light to medium maiming as a more appropriate deterrent for the offense."

"I think I like you and your sister already," Juanita Alvera stated happily. "I'm so glad you insisted that we try for an interview today, Dallas!"

"Ah, do you really think this is the time, Juanita?" Dallas asked as he tugged at his collar nervously.

"What are you worried about, Dallas? You're insured, and from the sound of it, I'm sure that the hospital stay would be brief."

"Not helping, Juanita…"

"Now Dallas, what was it you said back when we were doing that exposé on Don Corneo back in Midgar? 'It depends on your definition of help?' Well, by my definition, I'm helping!"

"Please don't. I promise not to do anything like that again!"

"And I promise not to do anything like this again," Juanita agreed.

Dallas relaxed.

"But the key word here is again," Jaunita stated firmly.

Dallas made a run for it.

Much to Juanita's disappointment, there was no pursuit.

She was, however, invited into the ship with both camera bots provided she agreed to behave herself.

O o O o O​

Location: Aleero City General Hospital, Kerwan
Time: 11:45 AM, Friday

Grim shut off the holovid in what was soon to be his former hospital room.

"Damn, Veldin just can't seem to catch a break, can it?" his brother, Felton commented. "First the Blarg attack and then that asshole tearing up the charity race yesterday."

"They'll bounce back," Grim shook his head. "The only difference between these incidents and the space pirate raid is that this time the news is paying attention to it for a change."

"I still can't believe you chose to stay there despite the Lombax colony being abandoned when we arrived in Solana."

"Well, it's not like they took their buildings with them when they left, and it's not like they're all gone either."

"I know, I know," Felton said. "I see them from time to time on Pokitaru. Families or couples on vacation, but they never say where they're from. Ever. Well, at least not the planet, anyway, as they do sometimes talk about this or that enclave or outpost."

"Kind of wish you'd have mentioned that sooner," Grim stated. "I might have brought Widget over to give her a chance of meeting other Lombaxes in a safe setting."

"Well, I would have told you, but up until a few weeks ago you hadn't even told me you had adopted one!"

"Yeah yeah, I know," Grim admitted reluctantly. "It's just that Widget spent most of her life so far as a Scavenger Rat who had to work, fight, and bleed for everything she had, and be ready to ditch it all at a moment's notice if she had to run away in a hurry. I was kind of worried how she'd take learning about you, Mr. Ten-Years-On-A-Fishing-Trip."

"Are you still on about that? I told you, I work at the resort! Is it my fault that they gave me a job where I can do what I love to do every day?"

"Yes."

"I'm not sure if I should feel complimented or insulted!"

"Also yes."

"Look, are you ready to go or not? The Starbus back to Poketaru will be leaving pretty soon. Or, if you want to surprise Widget, we can hop on the next one to Veldin. I think the Rangers are supposed to be there for at least a few more days."

"Yeah, let's do that one," Grim decided. "Besides, I should probably let my friends there know that I hadn't died in the attack."

"GRIM!"Felton admonished his brother. "Interplanetary holocalls aren't that expensive! You've got to actually call people sometimes and not just wait until they come to you!"

"Eh, it's worked out for me so far."

"Uhuh. Sure. And now Widget's first experience with another Lombax that looks to be about her own age is that nutjob showed up yesterday. You know as well as I do that she's probably been the only Lombax on Veldin the entire time since the refugee ships arrived. Like I said, I see them from time to time on Poketaru, so I guess wherever they've moved to, they still take vacations, but until Widget and now this guy, you just don't seem to find them in the news like back in Polaris before that Tachyon asshole mucked things up."

"You obviously don't keep a weather ear on news from Polaris then."

"Let me guess: Another 'insurgency' of 'criminally insane' Lombax terrorists? Why do you bother keeping track of that drivel? You know as well as I do that Tachyon has had a stranglehold on every major news outlet in Polaris since shortly after he declared himself their Benevolent Emperor for Life."

"Sooner or later he's going to finish consolidating his power there, Felton. And once he does, he's probably going to start wondering where all those Lombaxes in the resistance are coming from, because they're running out of places to hide in Polaris. And he's got to have noticed that he's not finding any Lombax kids and be wondering where they are."

"And what does Widget think about all this?"

"She doesn't know," Grim stated. "I keep the parental controls active on my holonet terminal."

"GRIM! You can't keep her sheltered all her life! Not from this!"

"I… I just can't Felton. If you haven't been watching the Polaris newsfeeds, you don't know what Tachyon's been doing to the Lombaxes he catches! Rugs! Trophies! Wall hangings! Slaves! Zoo exhibits! And I can't decide which of any of these is worse than the others! I just can't subject Widget to that!"

"She's eighteen now, Grim. Sooner or later she's going to look stuff up on her own."

"I know, I know, it's just that she's not angry all the time any more. She's grown so much since I took her in, got a good head on her shoulders. I just worry that if she ever finds out about what Tachyon's been up to, all the peace she's gained since then will be shattered, leaving behind nothing but rage."

"And her finding out on her own is going to stop that, how?"

Grim sighed. "You're right, of course."

"So you'll tell her?"

"If I can figure out how? Yeah. I guess it's time."

 

[Tangent]

Location: The Phoenix, Bay 35, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 12:00 PM, Friday

"...and that was how I ended up becoming adopted into the Razz family and accepted a job offer to join my new sister, Widget, in the Galactic Rangers," Juanita Alvera listened to Clank Razz wrap up the tale of his "origins." Which was quite fascinating, if understandably bereft of certain details that either Clank, the Galactic Rangers, or the SGI considered to be either classified or too private to disclose at this time.

Which was fine as far as she was concerned. Not that she was against hard hitting exposé articles per se, as they were usually good for ratings, but you had to pick both your targets and the timing right or the sought after boost would turn into a slump instead as the audience turned on you. Something Dallas had yet to learn, but then again, the network had partnered them together due to the draw their clashing personalities caused rather than any skill or lack thereof on either of their parts.

"Excuse me," a floating robot spoke up, drifting into the room, "But will Ms. Alvera be joining us in the galley for lunch?"

"The Galactic Rangers serve robotic cuisine?" Juanita couldn't help but ask.

"Ma'am, I can prepare food suitable for any known sophont race in the Solana Galaxy, and quite a bit of those from the Bogon, Kavorian, Polaris, and Thyrullian Galaxies, as well as that one galaxy that nobody can agree which candy bar it is named after. Which I personally believe to be the Heath Galaxy, but that's mostly due to my personal preferences rather than any real evidence."

"Then I would love to join you for lunch," Juanita stated agreeably.

In short order, Juanita and her camera bots found themselves in the galley where most of the current members of the Galactic Rangers were already seated at one of the tables, while their other new member, Clank's sister Widget Razz, seemed to be checking up on a squad of one armed warbots seated at a table that had what appeared to be a makeshift charging and lubrication station set up on it.

"Have a seat at any table you prefer, Ma'am," the floating bot instructed. "You are, of course, invited to join the core team at their table if you'd like. I believe your model is capable of traditional oral consumption? Or would you rather have a funnel and a charging cable? Before you make your choice though, I feel that I should mention that I am rated as a four star chef. And that includes meals designed for robotic pallets."

"Well, how could I possibly turn that down?" Juanita asked, as she started heading for the table the core team was seated at.

O o O o O​

"Okay," Widget stated as she made some final adjustments at the table currently assigned to Bravo Squad. "We should have a better charging and lubrication station conversion set up soonish, but this should do for now. I've made sure that the versitech charging ports can accept your plugs, and the menu screen should give you what you need to know about the various lubricants currently available. We've got plenty, so feel free to pick whichever one you think you might like. Bloop might join you from time to time, since he doesn't have an actual mouth either, but he usually remains on watch while the rest of us are eating, so don't expect it unless we're on staggered shifts.

"Now, are you all set?"

"Yes, Sir!" Bravo Squad chorused cheerfully.

"Good, then I'll leave you to it."

With that, Widget turned and took a few steps over to the main table, once again choosing to take a seat beside her brother as she accepted a menu from Bleep.

Which, honestly, was the oddest thing she found about lunch and dinner aboard the Phoenix, as back at the Hall of Heroes, the cafeteria was much less formal. Everyone simply loaded up their tray with their choice of one or two options for each course, and then went back for however many seconds you had time for or thought you could get away with.

On the Phoenix, other than breakfast, going for more than one round of seconds got your knuckles rapped by Bleep. Yes, he appreciated having his food enjoyed, but he also took pride in judging how much he should be serving at any one time.

On the other hand, as long as the ingredients were on hand, he could apparently prepare anything! Although he did have ideas as to which items were for which meal time. Meaning the menu only showed lunchtime selections at the moment…

Wait…

Something was off here…

"Hello," a familiar looking female robot greeted from where she was seated on the other side of her brother. "I'm Juanita Alvera, of Channel 360 News. Captain Qwark was kind enough to grant me time to interview each of the Galactic Rangers today."

"Um… Hi?" Widget looked around. "Where's your partner?"

"Mr. Wannamaker declined to come aboard," Clank stated bluntly, not at all ashamed of the fact that he had driven the man off.

"Something about being a whiny-assed coward allergic to completely justified pain," Juanita opined with a sly smile.

"Why do you work with him if you hate him so much?" Cora asked.

"Ratings, mostly," Juanita admitted. "The executives think our hostile interpersonal chemistry draws more attention together than when either of us are apart. That, and I still have five years on my alpha contract until I legally own myself. Until then, the network counts as my owner and guardian. Despite the fact that I made enough to pay off my own production fee as of two standard years ago."

"Ah. R9-270's Law, I believe," Clank interjected. "Then you were produced on Obani Draco?"

"Isn't that the same moon Courtny Gears is from?" Cora asked.

"I believe so," Quark stated. "She mentioned something about pushing for a shorter mandatory period on the alpha contracts of all sophont quality bots produced there, and had asked me to make a statement in support of her stance. I don't think I had much of any effect though."

"Maybe not on the alpha contract itself, perhaps," Juanita disagreed, "but I can assure you that I and many other bots from Obani Draco appreciate the moral support you provided with that speech."

"Part of that thanks should go to Nefarious here, as he helped me write it."

"And it might have had a more direct effect if you had stuck to the script as written," Dr. Nefarious groused. "Still, from the other angle, your improvised alterations did lead some other worlds to adjust their own alpha contract laws to be more favorable for their own recently produced robotic sophonts."

Captain Qwark rolled his eyes. "Come on, Nefarious! The speech as written had you written all over it! Which would have been fine if you were the one Courtny asked to speak. Which, to be perfectly honest, probably would have been the better choice there. But it would have sounded disingenuous coming from me if I read it straight out."

"Fair point," Dr. Nefarious conceded. "I can hardly fault you for realizing that nobody would believe that a magnificently brilliant speech came from you."

"Exactly!" Quark agreed readily, then paused. "Hey…"

"So…" Widget interjected, "where would I be able to find Dallas if I wanted to… have words with him?"

"We're staying in suite 576 at the High Ridge Hotel on Glonson's Street," Juanita immediately provided. "Dallas prefers the bed nearest the window, for which he likes to leave the curtains wide open at all times unless he's in fear of his life, and he'll have the lights out at 12:00 AM, after the late news. If he's not there, chances are he'll be either hiding in the closet or under my bed instead. I'll call ahead and let the hotel know that you are a guest."

"That is surprisingly helpful," Widget admitted.

"As long as you don't actually kill him, the network actively encourages me to make life as hard for Dallas as he makes mine, and I still owe him for the stunt he pulled on me during the Don Corneo exposé. It'll make for good ratings."

"Be that as it may," Quark interrupted sternly. "Assaulting a member of the media without just provocation rarely turns out well. Even with their network's permission."

"He was making openly lascivious comments about Widget during a live broadcast. I feel that I should point out that Veldin laws affords me certain rights to defend her honor as her brother."

"Then Clank may go, once I've confirmed this to be the case," Quark stated. "Widget, you are to stay aboard until the service tomorrow."

"Dammit!" Widget groused.

"I will double check as to how much defense of my sister's honor I am legally permitted to inflict on Mr. Wannamaker," Clank informed them, pleased at the opportunity to do so.

"I really would have preferred to do it myself," Widget pouted.

"Actually, we have to go over what we're wearing for the service," Cora informed her. "Are we going all together as a group, or will Widget be attending separately as a friend of the deceased?"

"Why does that matter?" Widget asked.

"Well, in the former case, we need to get you fitted for a formal uniform, and in the latter, we'd need to look up what's appropriate for a Veldin service. Unless you want to wear something more traditionally Lombax?"

Widget snorted. "Why would I care about Lombax traditions? The only other Lombax I ever met was an asshole. I mean, sure, I'm curious, but I don't think this would be the right time to start looking things up. I'll go as a Ranger. Marshal would have appreciated it."

O o O o O​

Location: Suite 576, High Ridge Hotel, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 12:15 AM, Saturday

Dallas was… semi-comfortably... tucked in under Juanita's bed. His partner had yet to return to the suite, meaning that she had most likely gone ahead and performed the interviews without him and sent them off to the network without giving him the opportunity to edit in his own input.

Which he would be complaining about, naturally, but it wouldn't be the first time either of them had cut the other out of an interview or scoop, and it wouldn't be the last either.

What he was expecting was a late night visit by Commando, who would most likely check his bed first, then the closet, hopefully giving him time to sneak out the door before she started chasing him.

The heavy steps that approached and stopped at the suite's door did not sound anywhere near light enough to be either Juanita or Commando…

The fact that the door opened right away was proof that Juanita had sold him out. Again. And the steps heading right for Juanita's bed instead of either his or the closet told him that perhaps he had chosen this particular variant too often.

The bed lifted, revealing a rather hefty warbot with glowing green eyes and what seemed to be a chrome and black color scheme (although it was hard to say for sure since it was backlit by the light from the hallway).

Dallas screamed like a little girl and scrambled between the warbot's legs and made a dash for the hallway, where he ran into…

"Oh thank God! Sheriff! There's a warbot after me!"

"Now don't go thanking me just yet," Sheriff… his name was Taun Tuan, right? Sheriff Taun Taun stated grimly. "I'm only here to serve as a witness while Widget's brother here defends her honor as is his right."

"Thank you, Sheriff Taunty," the warbot said as it… he… gripped Dallas' shoulder and dragged him back into the room. "I'll be sure to stay within the legally accepted limits of the defense I can inflict on Mr. Wannamaker."

"I gotta say," the sheriff commented, "I don't often get a heads up before this sort of thing happens. And it certainly beats what I'd have expected if Widget attended to it herself."

"Er… What would you have expected then?" Dallas couldn't help but ask.

Sheriff Taunty rolled up his right sleeve and showed what appeared to be a long healed bite mark on his wrist. "Widget used to be a mite mean when she was pissed. However, I expect this fellow to deliver a right proper and civilized beatin' in her defense. Count yourself lucky, 'cause you're probably not going to need stitches…"

O o O o O​

Location: The Phoenix, Bay 35, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 6:00 AM, Saturday

One of the big pros of the military surplus bunks aboard the Phoenix was that they were encapsulated, meaning that those sleeping in them wouldn't be disturbed by anyone coming in late, or being active or loud in the common area. Well, unless the built-in alarm was set for a specific hour, or an alert went off, or someone deliberately woke you up.

In this particular case, Widget only had herself to blame, as she had forgotten to adjust the time on her bunk's alarm when she had turned it on the previous night. Sure, having it set for Oh-Fuck-It's-Early in the morning made sense when she was trying to keep to her training schedule, and the holosim training room on the Phoenix was almost as good as the one in the Hall of Heroes (actually, Widget couldn't tell the difference, but she assumed that Dr. Nefarious and Elaris knew what they were talking about).

Which was all well and good except that, now that it actually was Oh-Fuck-It's-Early in the morning, she just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep. Granted, by the time she was awake enough to realize that she could do precisely that, she was already dressed in the grey shorts and halter-top that served as her official Galactic Rangers exercise gear and half a lap into a simulated jogging track.

It was also at this point that the holosim deactivated, leaving her in a circular room with one door and upper and lower vents. Oh, and Captain Qwark wearing slippers, pajamas, and a nightcap standing by the door with an unamused expression on his face.

"Ah… Good morning, Captain?"

"Widget, can you tell me what's wrong in this scenario?"

"Um… It's Oh-Fuck-It's-Early in the morning?"

"Besides that."

"Well, it can't be that I'm alone, this was just an exercise sim…"

"Actually, that is part of the issue right there."

"What? Why?"

"Widget, I know that you're used to a lot of physical activity from prior to joining the Galactic Rangers, but there's a reason why either Cora, Brax, or I have been present during all of your physical training sessions so far. Neither you nor we know your physical limits yet. And you've shown a noticeable tendency towards not knowing when to stop or take a break."

"But…"

"Also, you didn't schedule your holosim time, so I got woken up by the automatic alert."

"But…"

"Go back to bed, Widget."

"But…"

"Set your alarm for eight. We'll have time for a nice breakfast, get ourselves cleaned up, and ready to leave for the service at nine forty-five."

"But…"

"Or would you rather I insist that you set your alarm for nine, leaving you barely any time at all to have breakfast, get cleaned up, and have either Cora or Elaris help you get dressed for the service?"

Widget was out the door and racing for her bunk before Qwark had even finished speaking.

"That's what I thought." With a yawn, Quark shambled back towards the crew quarters.

Already back in the crew quarters herself, Widget decided to just kick off her trainers, putting them back on the floor of her locker, and finish sleeping in her exercise clothes as she hadn't worked up a sweat.

Besides, her pajamas were already in the hamper anyway, and she didn't feel like fishing them out for just a couple more hours of sleep...

O o O o O​

Location: Town Square, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 11:55 AM, Saturday

The memorial service honoring Sheriff Marshal General had been a somber, if somewhat politicized, event held in the town square. Mayor Kreely, the colony's governor, was just wrapping up a long winded speech about the late sheriff's selfless bravery and service to the community that Widget was sure that Marshal would have actually loathed had he been alive to hear it. Especially when Kreely announced that they were honoring Marshal General with a statue and by renaming the colony after him.

"Interesting statue," Cora commented, unsure of what to make of the larger than life bronze representation of the late Sheriff Marshal General wearing little more than a bathrobe and a serious expression.

"Heh," Grim chuckled, drawing Widget's attention to the fact that he (and another oversized Fongoid that, from his resemblance to Grim, was likely her Uncle Felton) had arrived. "I remember that incident. Bubba shot the jukebox that night."

"Said it played a sad song that made him cry," Widget reminisced. "So, the Hospital finally released you, Gr-Dad, or do you have to go back again?"

"Nah, I'm good. Thought I'd come and let my friends know I was alive and all."

"After I reminded him that he's got to be a bit more proactive about keeping in touch that is."

"And you must be Uncle Felton," Clank observed.

"And you must be my new nephew, Clank," Felton agreed before turning his attention to Widget. "And if I'd known that my reticent brother had actually adopted you, or that you were his ward in the first place, I'd have invited you both over to my place on Poketaru for a visit. And maybe took the time to find or buy you a more traditional Omniwrench rather than that Omnimallet I sent once I found out you were my niece."

"Wait, according to the adoption records…" Widget pondered for a moment, then glared at Grim. "DAD! Interplanetary calls aren't that expensive! You've got to actually call people sometimes and not just wait until they come to you!"

Widget had no idea why her uncle fell over laughing...

 

[Tangent]

LEXICON of LOMBAXES
A list of Lombaxes & Lombax OC's donated to this story, and their creators:​

Alister Azimuth: This older male Lombax is a former member of the Praetorian Guard, and he remains a controversial figure among the surviving Lombaxes who did not escape into another dimension at the Battle of Azimuth's Court. Many of his own generation and older hate him for being the one to grant Percival Tachyon access to advanced Lombax Technology, but he is also seen as the heroic general that has enabled the remaining Lombax resistance in the Polaris Galaxy to survive as long as it has so far, going a long way to earn the forgiveness among many of the younger Lombaxes throughout the known galaxies. While General Azimuth won't begrudge budding romances among his forces, any pair that ends up with or expecting a child is highly encouraged to either go even deeper into hiding on a safe world or to leave Polaris altogether (typically just after a heist type operation in order to secure enough funds for the bribes and fees required to secure passage aboard an intergalactic vessel). Much of the more accurate news leaving the Polaris Galaxy is due to the efforts of Azimuth's resistance cells and allies.

Angela Cross: This female Lombax was separated from her family at a very young age during the Fall of Fastoon, ending up on a refugee ship heading for the Bogon Galaxy, where she grew up on Greblin as a presumed war orphan. Little is known of Angela's life prior to her becoming old enough to apply for college correspondence courses, but she gained notoriety under the name Hell's Angela in various arena circuits as her chosen method of paying for her classes. After graduating, Angela ended up taking a job as a research geneticist for Megacorp back on Greblin, and is currently part of the team working on the Protopet project...

Axel (Questiondeca): A male Lombax making a living as a cabbie as he tries to earn enough Bolts to travel to another galaxy even further away from Polarisas Emperor Tachyon's conquest there continues.

Callen and Cameron (Thozmp): a brother and sister pair serving as part of a small mercenary group as a sniper and explosives expert respectively. Callen is a little worried that his sister is taking her love of explosions a bit too far, as she seems to have started a religion, of sorts, to the great god Bo-bom-bo.

Lorna Cross (mentioned in canon, but recommended by Firebear): Seperated from her husband and daughter during Emperor Tachyon's attack on Fastoon, Lorna ended up on one of the refugee ships escaping the Polaris Galaxy, spending the trip in a recovery pod. Believing her family to have been killed by Tachyon's forces, Lorna ultimately ends up moving to a Lombax enclave on Marcadia, where she advocates for support to be sent to the remaining Lombax forces back in Polaris (with limited success). Lorna later becomes a lobbyist, attempting to drum up even more support from the Parliament of Solana for General Azimuth's forces back in Polaris, but has thus far failed to garner much more than sympathetic noises as no one wants to risk an intergalactic war at this time.

Louie, Rouge, & Dr. Victor Neox (BlueStripedRenulian on DeviantArt): A small set of unrelated Lombaxes acquired over time by various means by the Syndicate and placed together as a sort of family unit (partly due to Louie's young age, partly to promote the mental stability of Dr. Neox).

Mustachio Furioso: This male Lombax with the unlikely name is a notable gentleman adventurer who has travelled much of the known galaxies. Little is known of his true goals and methods, but he has occasionally delved into various arena circuits and was once a very friendly "rival" of Hell's Angela back on Eroticon Six in the Bogon Galaxy. The two go their separate ways after that year's Eroticon Six Games event concludes, but remain on friendly terms as Mustachio continues his adventures across the galaxies...

Ratchet: There are at least three different versions of Ratchet slated for entry into this fic during the multiversal arcs...

Rivet: There is at least one version of Rivet slated for entry into this story during the multiversal arcs...

Spanner: This male Lombax was just old enough to remember what Fastoon was like when his family escaped the Polaris Galaxy prior to the Battle of Azimuth's Court, and for a while he was happy enough living in a Lombax enclave in Solana they had ended up at. Unfortunately, something happened to inspire his parents to return to Polaris and rejoin the resistance against Percival Tachyon, who had become Emperor by this point. The last Spanner had seen or heard of his parents, his mother was being auctioned off as a slave with a visibly broken spirit, while Spanner believes his father to have ended up as one of the Lombax hides decorating the walls of Emperor Tachyon's palace. Spanner is now a very violent nihilist, and is currently serving time after being captured by Widget Razz of the Galactic Rangers.

Widget Razz (Ratchet & Rivet's analogue in this continuity): A female Lombax who arrived on Veldin along with quite a few other refugees from Polaris, Widget grew up as an apparent orphan surviving at first off of charity from sympathetic Salvage Rats before growing old enough to start earning her own "living" as a Salvage Rat herself. While normally kind, if rather crude and inconsiderate, Widget was noted for being very mean in a fight, earning her a sort of questionable respect. Widget met Gogo as the young Terachnoid started attempting to supliment her allowance via salvage herself, taking her under her wing to show her the ropes. Widget is later caught attempting to break into the scrapyard behind Grimroth's Garage, and remanded to Gim's care as part of her court mandated sentence. Living with and working for Grim has calmed Widget down considerably as the large Fongoid has been a huge civilizing influence over the young Lombax, allowing her to finally be a kid for the first time in her life. After a few years under Grim's care, the story begins...

NOTE: This list will grow over time, and the entries of any individual Lombax may expand into slightly more detailed summaries as they are actually introduced into the fic.

 

[Tangent]

Two things:

First, I'm about half to three quarters done with the next chapter, so it should be up soon... er, soonish...

Next, RivettheLombax, from Fanfiction.net, started a TVTropes page for Widget & Clank: Lombax Bebop!