//------------------------------// // Nexus: Prisoner Escort // Story: The Sparkle in his Eye // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Twilight groaned softly as she followed Ratchet along the mag-lock path on the outside of the Nebulox Seven Prison Ship. She'd been stuck on there with Ratchet, Clank, Cronk, and Zephyr for nearly six months, and she was starting to get a bit stir crazy. "Remind me again why you're in charge of transporting this...Vendra Prog to her quintuple life sentence again?" Twilight demanded angrily. "Because Clank and I are the ones who captured her when she and her brother attacked Pollyx Industries," Ratchet explained as he approached the damaged section of the ship's hull and interior circuitry. Disengaging his Omni-Boots, he let himself float to the opposite mag-path before latching on again and getting to work. "How'd you manage that, anyway?" Twilight asked, launching herself over to his side. "That's the one thing not in the files." "We utilized special trap technology Nefarious devised after studying your abilities," Clank explained readily. "They were quite effective." "No wonder it's not in official reports," Twilight mused as Ratchet worked the repairs. "But why am I here?" "Because we don't have any more, and your abilities are similar enough to Vendra's that you'll be the only chance we'll have of keeping her contained if she gets loose," Ratchet explained. "And before you ask again, the reason the trip's so long is because Aphelion isn't a sanctioned prison ship, and this is the only ship equipped with the cryo-stasis technology necessary to keep her in check. And the design is necessary so that module can be separated independent of the rest of the ship on our arrival for safe transport. And we're only two hours away now, after taking the shortcut through the asteroid field." "Which led to this damage," Twilight muttered under her breath irritably. "I get that there wasn't really any way around all this...but it still sucks. Just wish Nefarious could have come along. I miss him." "Twilight, you holo-call him everyday, which is already a violation of at least 30 security protocols for prison transport ships," Ratchet chided. "The only thing having him actually here would change is things I've already said aren't happening when we're under the same roof. Just because you're 18 now doesn't mean I accept you doing that sort of thing under the same roof as me." "I accepted you doing that sort of thing in the same building with Sasha," Twilight countered. "And Angela. And Talwyn. ...all at the same time." "That's different," Ratchet scolded neutrally. "You set me up with all three of them. For you, it's a job well done. For me, I'm your Father, and I tolerate Nefarious because he's good for you. I still don't like him as a sophont." "Wish you'd be a bit more accepting about his chosen alignment," Twilight grumbled as they moved back into the ship. "He did get you that information file you requested, and it wasn't easy. It'll also cost him a lot in the villain community if it becomes known he was giving information like that to a hero." She paused thoughtfully. "What was that data file, anyway? He won't say." "Vendra's bio," Ratchet answered readily. "Some of the things she and Neftin said during the attack...it got me curious." "It seems to have gotten you depressed," Twilight chided. "Just thoughtful," Ratchet countered. "Why don't you go check in with Cronk and Zephyr on the bridge and give your boyfriend a call? I'm going to go check on her cryo-restraints." Twilight glanced up at Ratchet thoughtfully. "Alright," she offered finally. "Just be careful, okay?" With that, she turned to the bridge, while Ratchet made his way to the brig. It didn't take long for Ratchet to reach the brig, taking the straight path through the ship. It had been his idea to keep the systems that controlled Vendra's cryo-cell and the proton field that contained her powers on an independent power system within the module, so that damage to the ship at large would have no effect on her imprisonment. As he approached, he once more got a good look at the prisoner. Her pale skin stood out against the dark purple of her outfit and the bright pink of her hair, which she wore up over her head like a pair of devil horns. Though the cryo-sleep kept her eyes closed, he knew those pale yellow orbs would be locked on him if she were awake enough to see him. All official reports described her as cold and empty...but Ratchet knew better. As he checked over the restraints, he activated another system. As it whirred to life, an image of Vendra appeared in the air beside him, glaring at him with her arms crossed. "Again, Ratchet?" she growled irritably. "You've been coming in to talk to me every day for the past two months. Not that I mind the company - cryo-sleep is boring when your mind doesn't require physical functionality in your brain to work - but I can think of much more entertaining ways we could pass the time." "So could I, but I doubt we're thinking the same things," Ratchet replied readily as he continued his work. He'd detected her brain-wave patterns within the cell independent of her actual body's functionality, and on an impulse built the device - completely self contained - to interact with them. This enabled him to speak with her like this without giving her any way of actually escaping her cell. "True," Vendra agreed, her tone playful, almost seductive. "My idea's probably much more violent." "I wouldn't count on that," Ratchet joked back. "One of my mates is a Cazar." Vendra took on a mock offended pose. "And I thought I was evil. To think you'd think suggest such things about a poor, innocent young girl like me." "You're 23, one of the biggest criminals in the galaxy, and your net worth from those activities is in excess of several billion bolts," Ratchet countered. "Would you care to try again?" To Ratchet's surprise, Vendra actually giggled. "You're not at all like what I thought you'd be," she admitted. "I thought you were just a coward, who didn't have the guts to take the risks needed to find his own race. Certainly not the hero the rest of the universe makes you out to be. But no matter how much I insult you, tease you, or threaten you...you turn it into jokes. What does it take to get to you?" "The one thing you won't do," Ratchet replied readily. "And as long as you don't, I see no reason to be the least bit hostile to you." "How do you know I won't do that?" Vendra demanded angrily. "Because you care too much about your own family to threaten mine," Ratchet stated calmly. "Neftin must be a pretty great guy if you're that loyal to him." Vendra remained silent for a time. "I don't like that you know so much about me," she growled out angrily. "And don't think it means you understand me at all." After a few moments, she sighed thoughtfully. "However...if things had been different, I think we might have been friends." "I can see that far too easily," Ratchet confirmed. "After all...I could have walked the same path you have. There but for my family go I." "...and I just wasn't so lucky, is that it?" Vendra grumbled. "Seems that way," Ratchet agreed. "Seems that way..."