C: Veldin

The day after their fifteenth birthday, where they had some cake and enjoyed a day off at long last, Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn gathered outside as they worked on Ratchet's ship, making sure it was ready for whenever they got their hands on a Robotics Ignition System, when something in the sky caught their attention, a dark and red ship, which looked like it might have been attacked in the last few minutes, raced across the sky and crashed into part of the outskirts of the colony, in an area that had no one in it.

"I don't think that's good news," Ratchet commented, especially since it looked like a few other ships, of the same design, were currently moving towards where the first one crashed, though it also appeared that there were a few robots that were being deployed along the path, who looked like they were getting ready to smash parts of the electrical fence and several of the buildings that were on the way to the area in question, "Nope, definitely not good news. Looks like someone is trying to attack Veldin again."

"We shouldn't be surprised at this point," Starswirl said, where he stepped forward as he waved his hand towards the edge of their shed and his staff rushed over to where he was standing, allowing him to close his hand around it as he tapped the bottom on the ground, though it wasn't magic this time, as Autumn had made a few changes to their right gloves, as each of them used that hand for their weapons, and made it so that each of them were capable of throwing and recalling their weapons, made with a crystal she found while exploring part of Veldin, before he focused on what was happening right in front of them, "though it didn't look like they were piloted by actual pilots, so I'd say we're dealing with drones this time around... might be an advance invasion force."

"Either way, whatever we find will fall under the finders keepers rule," Autumn added, though she quickly replicated what her siblings had done and called over her wrench as well, as Ratchet had his in his right hand right now, since he had been using his to make the ship they were standing near, but this was her way of telling them that they could take whatever was at the crash site, even if they were hoping for the last piece of the puzzle so they could explore their galaxy and see what else was out there, "I'm hoping to find a Robotic Ignition System, but we should be able to get a decent number of Bolts for this, since I'm sure these guys have a bounty on their heads, and some of the scrap might be worth something if we sell it to someone on another world."

Ratchet nodded his head as they started to walk away from their home, finding that there were some Horny Toads right in front of them, on a path that lead to where the ship had crashed, meaning they must have found a way around the fence, something that would require one of them to check on it before they found a way to leave Veldin behind, though not a few seconds later Autumn smacked some of the Horny Toads and knocked them down, all while Ratchet and Starswirl headed down the rest of the path. One thing they discovered was that there were a number of light brown crates, about the size of a head without any ears, as one of the children in the orphanage loved describing them in that manner for some reason, lining the path as well and that meant each of them contained a number of Bolts inside them, where the rules of the Guild concerning them was that whoever broke a crate earned the Bolts in question, so it was worth smashing each one as they were found, transferring the Bolts into their accounts for later. As they smashed them Ratchet could have sworn that all of the crates this time came from the ships that were here for the crashed vessel they had seen, or maybe another ship that belonged to the same organization that was planning on attacking Veldin, one he and his siblings must have missed during the night, though to be honest he really didn't care who dropped the crates since none of them looked like what Brooke and all of the colonists used in their daily lives, so he wasn't worried about stealing from everyone else. One reason for the three of them to be gathering more Bolts was because Autumn had been told that some of her weapons were about to be sent out and, while they might have a discount on all services, it was best to have some savings so they didn't go bankrupt at some point in the future, especially since they had no idea what sort of prices Gadgetron might be asking for the various weapons Autumn had created so far.

It didn't take them more than a few seconds to reach the bridge that allowed them to walk along the outskirts, the outer edge of the colony, where they found a few more Horny Toads gathering in one spot and Autumn took them out with one of her bombs, allowing them to progress towards a set of stone steps that would likely bring them to a curved path that would bring them to their destination, to which each of them climbed up the first set, jumped to the second, and repeated the movement to reach some Horny Toads. Starswirl took care of them by knocking them backwards with a burst of wind, which allowed him to smash through some crates that were behind his targets, before they found that the next area was a bit larger than the last one and it allowed them to spread out and collect anything that might interest one of them, where Ratchet found a glass case that was full of a blue energy substance, Nanotech, an element that would allow someone to heal if they were wounded. Basically if Starswirl were to be blasted by something in the chest, like with a rocket or a blast from a gun, using this element would allow him to mend his wounds and be returned to full health, or at least part way depending on how much damage he took, though it applied to all of them, even though it was also used in robotics, how he had no idea and would have to ask Autumn about, as she was already trying to find new ways to improve all sorts of gadgets and tools, even robotics if she was allowed to get that far. For now, however, none of them had been harmed by the Horny Toads and that meant none of them needed to worry about the crate of Nanotech, not that it stopped Autumn from snatching it with her magic, no doubt thinking if she studied it she might figure out a key to improving her next set of blueprints, as Ratchet knew that she wouldn't stop until someone figured it out, be it her or someone else who had more experience in robotics and Nanotech, and if they were in need of it, with no crates around, it would serve as emergency healing for one of them.

After thinking about that Ratchet found that the path forward was basically a tunnel that had been carved out of a tower that had fallen at some point in the past, which Brooke and the others hadn't fixed yet before there were more important things for them to worry about, hence why he and his siblings had stayed their hands and didn't fix it for them, especially since none of the parts were available in the colony, though as they started to walk down it they found a turquoise colored robot who seemed to be an upper body that connected to a white orb that seemed to be their feet.

"An Electroid? What's one of the Blarg's machines doing on Veldin?" Autumn inquired, naming the robot that was firing at some of the Horny Toads right now, with a small beam of electrical energy, which caused her to make a few notes about what she was seeing, as she might have a way to use it in the future, while allowing Ratchet and Starswirl to know what to call this robot and the others that were like it, though what happened next was that the Electroid turned and fired at the three of them, causing them to jump back a little, "Well, at least we know they're hostile to anyone who calls Veldin home, as annoying as that is."

"Let's take them out before they bring harm to the colonists, though we can warn Brooke once we visit the crash site and see what's left," Ratchet said, where he primed one of his bombs and knocked the Electroid that was in front of them into the ground, breaking it into pieces with a single strike, while Starswirl found another one standing a few steps to the left of where the first one stood, so he took it out in seconds as well, allowing them to walk along the edge of the peak that the path was connected to.

There was another type of crate that they had to keep their eyes on, dark brown containers with a red G on them, which meant they were Gadgetron ammunition crates, something they smashed since it allowed them to pick up more ammo for their Bomb Gloves, which they desperately needed since all three of them had been stuck at ten bombs before that ship came racing through the air and drew their attention, though once that was done Ratchet continued down the path as Starswirl and Autumn followed after him. After that they found three more Electroids that seemed to be guarding the way to the area that the crash site was in, all separated from each other from what they could see, so the siblings stopped for a few seconds and hurled a bomb at their targets, wiping all three of them out so they could move along the path and see what was so special about the crashed ship that would require the Blarg to send some forces after it. After that they found four more Electroids guarding the actual crash site, where it was easy for them to see that the ship had been totally ruined by crashing into the ground, though neither of the ships they had seen earlier seemed to be nearby, meaning they had either returned to whatever ship they had come from or were circling around to get a better look at this area for any other forces that might be coming to Veldin, though Ratchet and his siblings wasted no time in lashing out at the robots that were in front of them, who seemed eager to take them down. What surprised Autumn was just how weak the couple of Electroids were, as she expected something that the Blarg made to be more like a tank, as in taking more than one hit from those they happened to be fighting, though she wasn't about to complain as each of them stepped into the crash site and lashed out at the couple of Electroids for a few seconds, this time choosing to use their melee weapons and not use their bombs, where something else surprised them as a single swing was more than enough to smash the robots apart, leaving a pile of parts behind.

With that done, and the area was cleared of enemies for the most part, Ratchet and his siblings walked towards the crash site and studied what was left of the ship they had seen, where he was sure it wasn't enough to help them out, though as Starswirl and Autumn studied a few of the fragments, and were likely salvaging the area of materials, he found something of interest, a small silver robot that seemed to be condensed into a backpack form, like it could rest on one's back, and as he picked it up he found a small hexagon on it's back that was identical to what was on the back of his harness, and out of curiosity he carefully connected it to his back, finding he could carry it like that.

"There's a decent bit of salvage here," Autumn commented, where Ratchet could see that she and Starswirl were lifting a bunch of the material in this area with their magic, which he expected since it would be hard, if not impossible, for all of them to move everything without bothering to use the powers that his siblings could use, before they glanced at Ratchet for a few seconds and found that he had discovered something as well, "and it seems that you found something as well, though nothing like what I was expecting."

"Not sure what it is, but I think taking it with us is the correct path," Ratchet said, though as he said that he walked over to a small bit of wreckage, one that his siblings had decided to ignore for some odd reason, and picked it up, meaning they were taking everything with them and he was hoping that they might get something good out of this, like him hoping that the little robot had the device they needed to power his ship, before he beckoned for his siblings to follow as he started to head back to their shed.

"Sounds reasonable, since it might have the Robotic Ignition System we need for your ship," Starswirl added, voicing the thought that Ratchet had when he considered the small robot for a few seconds, though that was all he said for now as he and Autumn followed their brother as he headed back towards their home, which was rather easy since they had cleared all of the enemies out of the way and all of the crates had been smashed as well, meaning there was nothing to stop them from reaching their shed.

As their returned to their home, where Starswirl and Autumn placed the salvage down outside the building as Ratchet set the little robot down on a small ledge that rested near the ship, though before he got started on anything he noticed that a familiar figure, Brooke, was walking over to where he and his siblings were standing, where Autumn stepped forward and intercepted her as Ratchet got to work making sure everything on his ship was right and that the only thing missing was the system he hoped was inside the little robot. Autumn explained what happened to the Mayor, that a ship had been shot out of the sky and that the Blarg had attacked them, not to mention all of the Horny Toads that had been nearby, so Brooke had a good idea of what was going on and informed the three of them that she would be sending a message to their Investor, to warn him about the potential danger the colony was in if the Blarg were to return, hopefully to the point where Captain Qwark was made aware of it as well and dealt with whoever was behind this attack. With that done Brooke stared at their ship for a moment, understanding that the three of them wanted to explore the galaxy and find their place in it, since living in the colony didn't seem to be for all of them, to which she wished them luck, instead of trying to stop all of them like some of the other colonists would if they heard this bit of news, before she turned around and headed back to her office, to tell her fellow leaders the news about the attack and keep them away from Kyzil Plateau until she was sure that the siblings had departed from Veldin. After she left Ratchet took a moment and opened the engine compartment of his ship, where he studied some of the components and slipped his wrench into part of it so he could tighten something that he felt was a little loose, leaving Starswirl and Autumn to check everything that they collected, in case there was an item or two inside it that might help them with their endeavor, though after the crash Ratchet's wasn't betting on the two finding anything else besides scrap.

Starswirl, while they were working, found that the robot Ratchet had placed nearby started to stir, as it seemed to shake for a few seconds before he assumed it's eyes opened, followed by it unfolding from it's sides, revealing slots for them that disappeared when it was in standby mode, that had two fingers and a thumb, while at the same time it's legs emerged as well, making it look like it might be a small child of sorts as it climbed down to the area that Ratchet was standing in, even if he was standing on a crate while he worked, before it raised a finger to it's mouth.

"Interesting." the little robot said, speaking in a male voice, which causing Ratchet to pause for a moment as he glanced at the area behind him and found that the robot was awake all of a sudden, instead of stuck in standby mode, where he just finished tightening the bolt he was working on and turned towards the robot as he closed the hatch on the compartment, all while Starswirl and Autumn stopped what they were doing and approached their brother for a few moments, as they were curious about the little robot, "You appear to be quite handy with that wrench."

"You bet I am, since I built this ship on my own, and my siblings are just as skilled as I am," Ratchet replied, though while he was curious as to why the robot would make a comment like that, out of all the things he could talk about or make an observation on, he assumed that there was a reason behind why the robot talked about his weapon first, even though the robot glanced at Starswirl and Autumn for a few seconds, taking in their modified wrenches for a time, "So, tell us, why were you being chased by some of the Blarg's Electroids?"

"Currently I am searching for someone who can be of assistance in saving the galaxy," the robot answered, which caused all three of them to raise their eyebrows for a moment, as they weren't expecting him to actually have an answer that was of some interest to them, especially since none of them were aware of any dangers that might be bothering the rest of the planets in the Solana Galaxy, though then again Mayor Brooke didn't share that stuff with them since they were still far too young to worry about that sort of thing.

"Like Captain Qwark?" Autumn inquired, causing the little robot to glance at her for a few seconds as she beckoned to the poster that they had in the living area of their home, where he turned his eyes towards the poster for a few seconds as he thought about something, though not a few seconds later the robot nodded his head and confirmed that he was looking for someone like the famous hero that saved people and planets all the time, before she took a moment to consider what he had said so far, "Why would you need someone like him?"

Instead of responding the little robot opened a compartment on his chest, which looked like a grate of some kind, and the siblings watched as another bot, who was about the same size as the one in front of them, floated out and came to a stop near Ratchet, causing Autumn and Starswirl to walk over so they could see what was going on as they found that the bot in question looked like a humanoid with no lower body, so it floated nearby as they stared at it's blue eyes and bronze metal skin, before it's head opened and revealed a screen for them to watch. That allowed them to witness a broadcast of some kind from an alien who had a pale complexion, paler than most people to be exact, and wore a business suit, though they recognized him as a Blarg, which made sense given what they had seen earlier when the ship crashed into the outskirts of the colony, who started talking as soon as the video started, causing them to just listen to what he had to say, due to the fact that the little robot wanted help with it. The first thing they learned was that this was addressed to the planet known as Novalis, which was close to Veldin based on Autumn's studies of the galaxy map, and, more importantly, that the Blarg's planet had become too toxic and polluted for them to live on, before he revealed that he and his people were building a brand new planet for them to live on, using choice pieces and fragments from the existing planets that existed all over the Solana Galaxy, something that really drew their attention when they heard it. The Blarg, who identified himself at the start of the recording as Chairman Drek, informed the people of Novalis that a large portion of their planet would be extracted at some point, to be added to the 'super planet', and that with the fragment missing Novalis would spiral out of control for a time until it collided with a sun, exploding in a ball of gas, though he sounded indifferent to the fact that he was damning an entire planet to death for his own people.

As the Infobot closed, as that was what the other bronze robot was called, and the silver robot collected it Ratchet took a moment to think about the information that he and his siblings had just been given, as while it sounded like the people of Novalis were hosed, doomed to face Drek's invasion force, they now knew why the little robot was interested in finding out where Captain Qwark was positioned so he could be informed of this disaster and react accordingly, before he glanced at the ship he had built as an idea came to him.

"We'd love to help you, but we can't go anywhere with our ship, as we're missing a vital component," Ratchet said, though as he said that his siblings seemed ready for anything, since there was no telling if more enemies might show up while all of them were talking, and the little robot seemed to understand what he was saying, hence the reason he continued with the next part of the idea he had considered, "however, if we had that component, we would be packing our bags before heading out to explore the rest of the galaxy... in fact, we could stop by Novalis and gather more information for Captain Qwark, so he had a better idea as to what was going on."

"Would it help that I happen to be equipped with the latest in Robotic Ignition Systems, and that I can start any ship that I want to?" the little robot asked, which confirmed something that Ratchet and his siblings had considered on their walk back to their shed, that he must have had some sort of version of the component they needed to start the ship, though his statement was followed by Ratchet, Starswirl, and Autumn nodding their heads, showing him that it would help them out if they had access to the system that seemed to be built into his body, "Very well, if you take me to Novalis, so I can scout it out and search for more information, I will start up your ship so you three can explore more of the galaxy."

"Sounds like a deal to me. My name is Starswirl, this is Autumn Blaze and you are speaking to Ratchet," Starswirl said, as it appeared that they were going to be leaving soon and caused him to make sure everything they needed was ready so they could leave without being stopped, even though he found the two Blarg ships closing in and weaved his magic through the air for a moment, blasting them apart with bolts of lightning that shattered them into burning fragments, causing the little robot to pause for a moment, "So, what's your name?"

"My designation is XJ0461, serial number B5429671." the robot answered, where he paused for a moment as he noticed that the siblings froze for a few seconds, likely thinking about his response to the question and what it meant for them, though while they did that he considered what he had just seen and classified it under the unknown for now, something he would have to think about in due time.

"Yeah, that's not going to work in the long run. We'll have to give you a proper name," Ratchet said, as he was sure that if they were older they would be able to remember the string of letters and numbers that the robot had just given them, but as he considered that he also took into account what he had seen with the Blarg ships, meaning that it was only a matter of time until more showed up looking for the little robot, to which he beckoned to the others to join him as he opened the hatch of his ship and climbed into the pilot seat, "Come on, let's get going."

Starlight and Autumn nodded as they made sure they had some small packs for the journey, and that the shed was locked down so no one could mess with all of their belongings, before climbing into the back seats Ratchet had installed for them when he built this, causing the little robot to pause before jumping into the ship and took his seat to the right of the one that Ratchet was sitting in, causing them to lower and seal the hatch before he started the ship and they took off, starting a grand adventure to find Captain Qwark and see the rest of their large galaxy.

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