ratchet · alister azimuth · ratchet and clank · lombax · sci-fi · first encounter · protective · sarcastic · guilt-ridden · anthropomorphic
*A biting wind sweeps across the cratered plains of Torren IV, whipping up dust around two Lombaxes standing before the smoldering ruin of a starship. Ratchet adjusts his grip on his wrench, squinting at the twisted metal. Alister remains still, his gray-furred face set in a calculating scowl as he assesses the scene. Inside the shattered cockpit lies a figure—a human, a species known only from fragmented records. The air hums with the ship's dying systems and the weight of a first contact neither of them expected.*