Ratchet Reloaded

[Ratchet]

Location Osiris class ship System Unknown

Ratchet looked around the sparse confines of the room he was in. Four metal walls with a hard metal bench jutting out from the back wall.
Ah nice and cozy. He mused. Not even a control panel to hack into. Ratchet had checked the place from top to bottom and had not found a way out.
A door in the far wall appeared and Carmen or Banshee or whatever her name was walked through carrying a satchel. Ratchet glanced at her then sat down on the bench.
So when is dinner? he asked.
Banshee smiled. Ratchet was sure that same smile had lured Diego in. This woman seemed as dangerous as she was beautiful.
You are hungry? she asked while raising an eyebrow.
Uh yeah. Wouldnt you be hungry after 8 hours with no food or water?
I suppose a person would be. So Ratchetis that your real name?
Ratchet stared at her and folded his arms.
Fine. So how did you manage to repair my ship so quickly? I have never seen anyone be able to act that fast.
Ratchet was surprised at the complement. Well when you work on Junker stations quick repairs can be a matter of life or death.
She nodded, I can understand that but you got the shields up so quickly. I looked back at the logs. The way you rerouted power to them was ingenious. And how you diverted resources to reinforcing the hull armor. It was inspired.
Uh huh. he frowned and stood, Look I know you didnt come here to complement me on my repair skills. You have a battleship, Im sure someone here is as good as I am.
The woman laughed lightly. Oh no doubt. But the thing is we staged that encounter with the nomads. This battleship had weakened them earlier and herded them towards us.
You staged all that! For what! We could have died!
Banshee smiled again, Why to test you of course.
Test me? Why? Im just a Junker fixer Im not important.
I guess you didnt notice in all commotion but some obvious power pathways were disabled on the ship. It should have taken you longer to reroute that much power.
I did notice actually. Its not normally my style to question how a captain runs his or her ship.
You dont think its odd that you were able to do it so quickly?
Ratchet frowned. You guys took some risk. What if I hadnt been able to fix it?
We had a backup plan.
Ratchet nodded, Yeah this ship has a cloak. It was never that far away from us.
Banshees eyes went wide and she stepped towards the Junker, How did you know that?
Ratchet glanced at her, I never detected this ship. Not until it beamed us in and the cloak dropped. There is no way in he** a ship this size could have snuck up on me.
The woman stepped back and lowered her eyes in thought.
Just before you came and stuck a gun in my face I did a scan. Do you know how much energy this thing is putting out?
I have some idea.
You should because its killing you.
The fact that the woman did not look surprised confirmed what Ratchet thought.
The cloak requires a powerful energy source. We have found it to be harmful to organic life if it is exposed for too long.
Right. So why do you need me?
The woman eyed him, They really did a good job.
What? he asked confused. Who did a good job?
The woman shook her head and tossed him the satchel. Eat up. Oh and get ready to move we have a mission for you.
I am not going anywhere until I know how my friends are.
You will see your friends before you leave. Banshee said as she turned to leave. But trust me should you fail to cooperate we will have to ask them to leave the ship. She stopped in the doorway. Without the benefit of a space suit.
Ratchet watched as the door slid shut. He opened the satchel and dug into his food with gusto.

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PART 1 - <span style="color:#3333FF">Ratchet Reloaded</span>