//------------------------------//
// Tools: The Big Mistake 
// Story: The Sparkle in his Eye 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight knew that Tachyon's forces would be there soon in pursuit of Qwark.  Even if they didn't have coordinates to go on, large congregations of Pirates such as this one would be suspicious to the Cragmite.  As such, Twilight spent the next few quiet hours - and 50% of her Gadgetron/Grummel-net accounts - upgrading the Pirate Fleet's weaponry to the top of the line.  If Tachyon expected to roll right over the Pirates, he had another thing coming.  Of course, Twilight then had to spend another hour giving the Pirate troops and gunners a crash course in using state of the art tech.

Just as she was confident the Pirates weren't about to blow themselves up, Tachyon's forces arrived.  The Drophyds unleashed their full arsenal of ship bound weapons and the Pirate Fleet, which was already returning fire.  When the ships got close enough to each other, Pirates and Drophyds alike leapt from one ship to another to engage in hand-to-hand combat the honorable way...with massive guns, swords, and other such weapons.

Twilight oversaw the whole battle from the Pirate flagship, while Ratchet and Clank offered support from Aphelion.  Ace Hardlight had been put in charge of a squadron of Pirate fighter craft, and he engaged in numerous hit and run tactics, which proved supremely effective against the Drophyds, who didn't know how to deal with it.

Once battle was fully engaged and underway, Twilight was able to sit back.  At this point, everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing, and she was able to turn her attention to other things.  "Where's Qwark, anyway?" she asked.  "Slag said he sent him here."

"He never showed, Cap'n," one of the Pirates replied.

"What?" Twilight demanded angrily.  "What do you mean he never showed?"

"Just what ah said, Cap'n," the poor Pirate repeated nervously.  "He...never showed..."

"So you're saying that Captain Qwark, my BBBFF, who left Kerchu with the Dimensionator and couldn't find his way to the bathroom without a nav-unit sometimes is who knows where?" Twilight shouted, her voice cracking from her rage.

"Umm...yes?" the Pirate offered hesitantly.  "Please don't keelhaul me?"

Realize how terrifying she must look at that point, Twilight managed to get herself under control.  "I don't shoot the messenger," she reassured the troop.  She then grinned impishly.  "Especially not when I have so many better targets."  Taking hold of the targeting controls, she turned the ship's new main cannon on the Drophyd fleet.

"Nice shot, Cap'n!" the very much relieved Pirate called out as several Drophyd ships went up in a massive fireball.

"Pity we can't fire it too often," Twilight sighed.  "But it's a damn good show when we can!"

"Incoming transmission!" one of the others aboard the flagship's bridge called out.

The comm screen lit up, revealing Captain Qwark against a rocky background.  "Can anyone hear me?" he called out worriedly.

"Qwark!" Twilight called out in relief.  "What happened?  You were supposed to rendezvous with the fleet!"

"Umm...I took a wrong turn at the last nebula," he admitted shamefacedly.  "I wound up crashing here on Planet Reepor."

"Where is that?" Twilight demanded of the navigations officer.

The Pirate checked the starmaps, then swallowed convulsively.  "Umm...there's good news and bad news."

"Less stalling, more answers!" Twilight demanded angrily.

"Good news is that it's very close," the Pirate replied quickly.  "Don't even need to go hyperlight to get there from here.  Bad news...it's the Cragmite homeworld."

"More bad news," another Pirate added.  "This is less than half of Tachyon's forces."

"And..." the Comms Officer began nervously.  "This transmission is on an...open channel."

"Then Tachyon likely heard this, too?" Twilight demanded, aghast.  "Dad!  We need to get to Planet Reepor, stat!"





As they entered the atmosphere of Planet Reepor, Aphelion gave a report.  "The signal comes from three kilocubits away...but there is no landing site with ground connection in reasonable range."

"Then we won't land," Twilight replied.

Ratchet nodded in agreement.  "Cronk, Zephyr!" he called out to the other ship accompanying them.  "Prepare for a HALO jump!"

Cronk cackled in response.  "Ten-four rookie!  Lead the way!"

The group performed a free fall to the ground, only to be confronted with a massive group of Drophyds.  "I'm not letting Tachyon get my brother!" Twilight shouted out, deploying her RYNO IV v3, blasting away and obliterating most of the defending Drophyds.

"And the Dimensionator, right?" Zephyr asked.

Twilight blinked and chuckled, blushing.  "Yeah, that too."

Eventually, Twilight's RYNO ran out of ammo.  When she switched it to recharge mode, she gulped.  "That's not good," she muttered.

"What isn't?" Clank inquired.

"There isn't enough ambient energy in the area for the RYNO to recharge," she explained.  "Either the mere presence of the Dimensionator distorts reality enough to cause that, which says really bad things about what will happen if it's activated..."

"Or it's already being activated," Ratchet groaned.  "We'd better hurry!"

Pushing themselves and their weapons as hard as they could, the group made their way through the dark, rocky landscape and the ruins of the Cragmite fortifications.  Talwyn even joined in, lending her blaster and maneuverability to help blast their way through.  Unfortunately...they were too late.

When they made it through, they found Tachyon on his throne wearing the Dimensionator.  Qwark was across the platform, half embedded in a pillar and cradling a broken arm.  "I honestly didn't believe that you had the gumption to be a double agent.  I'm genuinely impressed, Captain.  However, yours isn't the only race for whom reality bends to faith...and my conviction is far stronger than yours!  A hero has no chance against a fanatic in a battle of faith!"

Qwark fell forward onto his face, his expression showing he didn't actually understand what Tachyon was saying.  "I'm...sorry, Dad...Mom...Sis...I failed you..."

Seeing Ratchet arriving, Tachyon laughed.  "How fitting!  The Prince of the Cragmites and the Son of the Lombaxes on the very ground their ancestors last fought!"  He started to say more, but noticed Twilight's horn starting to glow.  "I wouldn't recommend that, Miss Sparkle," he chided.  "The Dimensionator is in pre-activation mode.  Put too much energy into the environment around it, and you could wipe out the whole galaxy.  And you wouldn't want that, would you?"

Twilight wilted on herself, her magic dissipating as she let go of her focus.  "Seriously?" she complained.  "A villain with a practical reason why we have to sit and listen to his monologue?"

Tachyon cackled.  "I know!  It's just too perfect!"  Turning back to Ratchet, he waved his staff, gesturing to the broken environment.  "How do you like my planet, Lombax?  It's been dormant for years, thanks to your kind!  I have waited years for this moment.  Finally the time has come...for the Cragmites to rise again!"  He pulled a pull cord on the side of the Dimensionator that would have looked more appropriate on a lawn mower...which quickly became more appropriate, as the Dimensionator gave off a sound like a motor failing to turn over.  "Ahem...to rise again!"  He pulled again, only for it to fail again.

"Having a bit of trouble there?" Ratchet joked.

"It's alright," Twilight teased.  "I hear this sort of thing happens to a lot of guys."  She giggled louder at the expressions on Qwark, Ratchet, and Clank's faces.

"To rise again!" Tachyon shouted angrily, pulling the cord one more time.  This time, a massive technological sphere with all sorts of protrusions erupted out of the Dimensionator, balancing over Tachyon's head.  The entire area began to shake as the fabric of reality rippled in response to the device activating.  Tachyon paid it no mind, lost in his madness.  "The horrors committed by your race during the Great War shall finally be reversed!  Dimensionator, find the Cragmites!"

A massive rift opened above Tachyon, the surge of reality warping energy causing Twilight to scream as she clutched at her head.  A massive shock wave ripped through the area, sending the four heroes flying in different directions.