Ratchet and Clank AU: The Lombax Legend Book One

Ruins, Relics, and Romance

 Astra, Rivet, and Talwyn were in the lab-space on the Apogee Space Station, helping Astra sort through Ratchet's research notes from four days earlier. They were arranging the pieces of notes and clues into a diagram on a corkboard. Astra was cutting strings of different colored twine, while Rivet and Talwyn were sorting the notes.

"I still cannot believe you actually found your Dad alive," Rivet added. "I-I mean... Ratchet was so sure he was dead!"

"Broke his damn heart telling you about Alister's 'passing,'" Talwyn confirmed. "He called me in a panic after you left. I... I don't think I've ever seen him so upset, and I dated him for five-and-a-half years."

Astra bit her lip, her ears pinned against her head. "I would be too if the roles were reversed... I told him I'd do the same thing he'd done... but... naturally sometimes it's better to know rather than wasting time on a wild Speetle chase." She peered up at the windows outside. With an uncertain smirk she added, "I-I admit, it took every nerve in my body not to hug both you and him the minute we met, Riv."

"Really?!"

"I did tell you hugs are common greetings amongst us Lombaxes, did I not?" Astra laughed, gauging Rivet's reaction. "And besides, you two were the only other Lombaxes I'd met who I hadn't grown up with and aren't related to me."

Rivet's ears pricked up and she glanced at Talwyn.

"So... no dating stories then, hmm?" mused Talwyn, running her fingers through a stack of papers.

"Dating? Nah," Astra replied honestly, pinning a string to two sets of notes. "Douchebag ex-bullies tripping over themselves flirting with me as I rose up the ranks of society? Absolutely. The small size of my colony is why I resigned myself to never getting married; almost everybody is either related to me, already happily taken, scared of me, or a supreme dickwad. The large majority of my generation is in the latter category of 'dickwad ex-bully.'"

The two older girls glanced at each other sadly. "Not even a first date story?" Rivet asked. "I-I mean— you're not alone; I got nothing to share regarding that... issue."

Astra raised an eyebrow in thought, absentmindedly tightening the elastic band holding her braid together. "Well," she murmured, "the closest I have is Minoru's oldest son, Maxon. Max is sweet and all; I had a huge crush on him as a pre-teen. I asked him out. We went to the Academy Formal together when we were fourteen. Was cute and stuff but... no fireworks. He's the only one I considered growing up, because he wasn't a super-douche to me... but... the lack of common ground killed it for both of us. We're just minor friends now... although he's engaged to one of my female non-praetorian Sergeants; hopefully I'll be home for their wedding. They said they'd wait for me.

"Every other story I have doesn't end as amicably; it's either the douche getting mad at me—'slut' is a slur I heard frequently from bullies claiming I 'led them on'—vacating the area when I enter a room, or cowering in fear of my power."

"What about your Cazar friends?" Rivet asked. "Cazars are close enough in biology, right? And you have loads of Cazar friends."

"The thing with Cazars is that they're hardwired to marry and mate with their own kind," corrected Astra with a glare. "Sure, the biology is close enough to result in healthy offspring, but culturally it's a bit of a taboo in their culture. Yes I have Cazar friends, however all but two are female. Girls flock together." She began to leave the lab for a quick break, not at all agreeing with where this conversation was going. "Besides, I have a career and good friends; who said I absolutely have to fall in love with someone?"

"Well what about Ratchet?"

"What about him?" Astra asked over her shoulder, attempting to act nonchalant as she shoved scissors into a drawer.