A Whole Lot of Nothing!
By David C. Daoust



Ratchet’s arm took the brunt of the fall. Sliding across the floor was almost fun, if it wasn’t for the massive armored drone leg that abruptly stopped him. He could feel the bump form on his head as Mr. Lauren helped him to his feet. The old man was quite a bit stronger than he looked, and considering he managed to stay upright during the torrent of erratic turns, he was clearly more agile.

Almost everyone was seated and securely strapped in, yet the Sandcrawler was steadily driving forward now. Ratchet did not trust how long this stability would last. His first thought was of the two young girls in the cargo hold. Yet these thoughts were put on the back burner as he spotted the twin Battle Drones hovering outside the window. They were flying directly in front of the crawler as it tore its way through the sands of Twin Crown.

“Looks like we picked up an escort,” Hamlin stated as he also noted the two drones outside.

“Escort?” Ratchet asked puzzled by the idea.

“Where are they taking us?” Mrs. Lauren piped in.

“We’re sure to find out,” Hamlin answered cryptically.

“Ratchet, my sisters…” Harper said. She did not look her best, her face was pale and she still held his hoody to the back of her head tightly.

“I know. I’ll head down…” Ratchet began.

“No, young man,” Mr. Lauren insisted, “You find a seat and strap yourself in. I’ll head down and take care of the girls.”

“I’ll go with him,” Hamlin volunteered hastily.

Ratchet wasn’t sure what to make of the old man and he didn’t really relish the idea of sitting and waiting to find out if the girls were okay. Before he could put up a fight though, the old man had patted his wife on the shoulder and headed back out of the room. The strange form of Hamlin followed along behind.

The Brain Stealer was there. It hovered back out of its corner, where it had retreated to avoid bashing into anymore people. Ratchet didn’t like it. He didn’t understand it. Why was it even here?

The central lens lit up, lights began to weave together, and Ratchet’s own reflection appeared in holographic form.

“We really must tend to the girl’s injury,” Ferguson announced in Ratchet’s voice, regarding Harper’s condition, “Given that this Drone has taken complete control of this vehicle, I find it highly unlikely that medical Droids have been deployed– She could have received a concussion.”

Ratchet thought it odd that the holograph’s gaze was focused on Hugo. And by the expression on the old Jinn’s face, so was Hugo.

“Yes, well…” Hugo began as he unstrapped his belt, “I suppose I know how to check for a concussion…” The oversized lizardman gripped his cane tightly as he tried to regain his footing. It did not go well.
Ratchet really didn’t want him to strain himself.

“I’ll do it,” Ratchet said as he moved towards Harper.

The First Wave boy didn’t really know what he was doing. He planned to put his finger in front of the girls face, and let her track the movement. But he wasn’t sure what to expect from this action; just something he’d picked up watching movies and what not.

“I think it may be far wiser to use your cane, Doctor,” Ferguson said to Hugo.

“I’m no Doctor,” Hugo said amused, he lifted the cane and studied it for a moment, “My cane?”

“This is a doctor’s cane,” Ferguson informed, gesturing to it with a holographic hand, then asked, “You don’t know how to use it?”

“I mean, I use it like a cane,” Hugo defended himself, clearly surprised that he was holding healing tech.

“Well, you may have to get a crash course,” Ferguson informed, “I’d do it myself, but I’m not exactly corporeal over here.”

All these words were weird in Ratchet’s voice. So says Ratchet, himself. He thought Ferguson was supposed to be a copy of his mind? Ratchet didn’t know anything about this stuff, nor did he know that the cane was healing tech; something did not add up here.

“Here,” the holographic form of Ratchet directed the real Ratchet, “Help him to his feet…”

Ratchet had just gotten the Legendary Troubadour strapped in, and he still did not trust that the vehicle wasn’t about to start flipping them around all crazy again, but he wanted to help Harper… so he stowed his arguments and just helped the Old Jinn out of his chair.

“I just need you to click the buttons,” Ferguson told Hugo once he’d managed to position himself over Harper. “I’ll be able to read the scans… and we’ll go from there.”

Ratchet looked back out the window, saw one of the Drones suddenly drop oddly. It seemed to drift away after its boosters cut. He did not know what to make of it, but was even more surprised when it suddenly veered off and smashed down into the sands.

The Crawler charged on by.

Ratchet cocked his head a moment, was not sure what to say.

“Did you see that?” Mrs. Lauren asked him.

“Yes,” Ratchet answered. “What do you suppose that was about?”

“I have no idea…” she answered.