//------------------------------// // Time: Technology // Story: The Sparkle in his Eye // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// After giving Alister the upgrades to his hover boots to turn them into Omniboots - and convincing him to let her examine his wrench/lance/zapper - Twilight hopped into Aphelion alongside Ratchet, while Alister took his own ship. "I understand the logic of two ships taking two different paths being harder to track than one," Twilight admitted, "but his ship could fit inside Aphelion!" "Are you calling me fat?" Aphelion demanded jokingly. "No, just dimensionally advantaged," Twilight corrected with a wide grin. Ratchet rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Let's just get to Planet Terachnos." "Ratchet, Twilight, come in!" Alister's voice spoke up suddenly. "I've keyed into your Nav Unit so we can communicate!" "Are you sure the signal's secure?" Twilight asked in concern. "Of course," Alister replied. "No one would be stupid enough to try and mess with the Nav Unit signal, making it the perfect secure communications." "So what's in Axiom City?" Ratchet asked curiously. "A company called Pollyx industries," Alister explained. "Nefarious hired them to locate Zoni technology. They keep a database of every Obsidian Eye in the universe." "We used one to see Mommy inside the Great Clock!" Twilight gasped out. "Another one closer to him would be able to lock onto his exact location for communication!" "With luck, that's exactly what's going to happen," Alister confirmed. "But first, we need to find out where they are. Pollyx won't let us just waltz into the building-" "You sure?" Ratchet asked. "Not even for a visiting super-genius, galactic superhero, holo-vid star, and glide board champion?" Alister chuckled. "Well, they might for all that. But where are you going to find a group like that who won't spill the beans?" "I call him Daddy," Twilight piped up. "...seriously?" Alister asked, stunned. "How did you manage all that at your age?" "Adorable sells better than sex," Twilight replied jokingly. "I'm also a three time battle arena champion. Would that help?" "...in that case, you may be too famous," Alister pointed out. "You making an official visit to Pollyx industries would make news throughout the sector, and Nefarious would know what we were up to." "Wow," Ratchet joked. "Never thought your adorable success would come back to bite you, Twi." "Curse my eternal cuteness!" Twilight proclaimed angrily. "It forces me to vigilantism instead of politeness! ...actually, I think I like it better that way. Zurkon the Bearded and Mrs. Zurkon the Clever can help blast our way in." Alister was silent for a time. "Ratchet, how terrified should I be right now?" he finally asked. "As long as you stay out of the line of fire, not very," Ratchet reassured him. "Everything's going to be fine...Uncle." Alister coughed a couple of times, clearing his throat. "Try to keep a bit more disciplined, Ratchet," he chided gently. "This is a military operation now. Azimuth out!" Laughing, Aphelion set the course for Terachnos and hit the boosters. Once they landed in the midst of the delicately rising skyscrapers of Axiom city, Ratchet once more opened his communicator. "General, come in," he called out. "We just landed in Axiom City. Where are you?" "I'm afraid I ran into a bit of trouble," Azimuth replied. "I've had to make a slight adjustment to our plan." "What...kind of adjustment?" Twilight asked worriedly. "Attention citizens!" the city's Public Address System announced. "Rogue Lombax Alister Azimuth spotted within city limits. Troopers have been mobilized for your protection." "Oh," Twilight grumbled. "That kind." "Don't worry, I have a plan!" Azimuth hastened to explain. "Just get to Neurox Plaza and wait for me to make contact." With nothing else to do, Ratchet and Twilight began making their way through the city. The Terachnoids themselves that they spotted were pink aliens with four crab-like legs, immense heads, and spindly bodies supported by customized technological prosthetics. The buildings all soared into the skies, and wide skyroads divided the paths, bridged by Swingshot targets and the occasional hover boot jump ramp. As they made their way through, they came across a Grummel-net vendor with a new weapon available, Tesla Spikes. This was a mine-like weapon which created electrical fields between the spikes once planted. Ratchet and Twilight each bought one as they made their way through. The armor vendor also had a new armor system available for use, which they both got customized to their bodies. One particular Terachnoid seemed particularly miffed about their presence, though. "Another Lombax?" he grumbled in a high pitched voice. "Typical! Who do you think you are, hoverbooting over everything in sight like it's your own personal playground?" "He's my Daddy," Twilight offered, stepping between Ratchet and the Terachnoid. When she opened her mouth again, the language that came out was not one Ratchet understood...but apparently, the Terachnoid did, as he responded in kind. After a time, she turned back to Ratchet. "Azimuth went to the starport," she explained, pointing off towards a particular jump ramp. "Umm...?" "I speak Terachnoid," Twilight explained. "That cleared up quite a bit. He's going to be spreading the word around in Terachnoid code that we're the good guys, so we should get a bit of a helping tendril from the civilians." "Nice going, Twi," Ratchet praised. "Let's go!"