Many parallels exist between Ratchet's story and that of the Prog twins. Both orphans in a world not their own. Both socially outcast young. Both far smarter than all around them. It's easy to believe that had their paths been different, Ratchet could have been the villain and the Progs the heroes.But what if they walked their path together from the first day? What if Vendra and Neftin were left on Veldin when they were expelled from the Nether?
This is that story.
At twenty-three chapters and ongoing, Three Stars of Veldin is a Ratchet & Clank Alternate Universe Fic by Tatsurou depicting how Ratchet and the Prog siblings' (Neftin and Vendra) lives would develop if the latter two ended up on the same planet as the former instead of their canon location.
Can be found on both here
on FanFiction.Net and here on Archive of Our Own.
Features examples of:
- Action Girl: Vendra is a capable fighter with her telekinesis and weapons.
- Adaptational Heroism: As Vendra and Neftin grew up with Ratchet on Veldin, that essentially means that they join him and Clank on their first adventure. While the Progs, including Ratchet, have their own reasons for fighting the Blarg, it is still a step up from being life long criminals in canon.
- Adaptational Intelligence: Neftin has been stated to have worked on some weapons for Gadgetron alongside his siblings instead of just leaving all the technical/scientific thinking to Vendra.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Instead of being enemies turned sympathetic allies of Ratchet and Clank as in Into the Nexus, Neftin and Vendra Prog grew up with Ratchet as the latter's younger siblings to the point of rejecting the Nether Leader upon meeting him. Similarly, Wendell Lumos, the CEO of Gadgetron as named in the reimagined game, goes from a one time acquaintance of Ratchet and Clank's on their first adventure, to the adopted grandfather of Ratchet, Vendra, and Neftin alike.
- Big Brother Instinct: Both Ratchet and Neftin are pretty protective of Vendra, having gotten aggressive with both Big Al and Skidd McMarx for flirting, or wanting to flirt with her, and Ratchet pulling rank on Vendra in Chapter 22 by having Clank accompany her in the war zone on Planet Batalia.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Vendra, having come to be attracted to Ratchet as a growing woman would, doesn't like it when the Hoverboard Girl at Blackwater City winks at him and has to be calmed down by both of her brothers before Ratchet can enter the race.
- The Conscience: Clank's role to the Punch-Clock Hero Prog Trio, beleaguered, though, it may be.
- Everyone Has Standards: Although Vendra does not see herself as a genuine hero, she immediately voted to head to Eudora to prevent the deforestation.
- Family of Choice: Having been accepted by Vendra and Neftin due to his own starting act of kindness to them, Ratchet preferred for his surname to be "Prog" as well, and the three of them have been pretty happy among each other, especially when they’re formally recognized as siblings via being adopted by the same grandfather, Wendell Lumos.
- Forbidden Love: By the time both Ratchet and Vendra become adolescents, they become conflicted about seeing each other as siblings still when they start to see how well-developed the other is becoming.
- Galactic Conqueror: Vendra mentioned conquering the galaxy with her Gramps on his last trip to Veldin. Whether or not it'll be taken seriously remains to be seen.
- Happily Adopted: Although the Prog trio were unsure about Wendell's involvement in their lives at first, they become fonder of him for when he came to care for Vendra when she got sick.
- Harmful to Minors: Ratchet was kicked out of the farming settlement Gadgetron owned on Veldin for being an non-contributive orphan. Not only did he steal food from the settlement in retaliation for them selling the space pod he came in just before meeting his future siblings, but this comes to influence the Prog siblings kicking the settlers off the planet and taking it for themselves in Chapter 4.
- Heel Realization: After a rather unkind joke to the Plumber in Chapter 15, the Progs come to realize that they've been working for their adoptive grandfather's approval for too long, they hadn't been more considerate to others.
- Honest Corporate Executive: Wendell Lumos himself said that he started Gadgetron to group together the "small people with big brains" to benefit society as a whole as much as to give his employees a place to belong. Combined with being a good grandfather figure to the Prog siblings he adopted, and he's far better a person than Chairman Drek.
- Interspecies Adoption: Ratchet is a Lombax, Vendra and Neftin are Nethers, and Wendell Lumos is a reptilian kind of alien, and yet the Nether siblings were quick to call Ratchet their brother upon his kind approach to them in their first meeting followed eventually by Wendell formally adopting the trio as his grandchildren to help settle legal issues.
- Pervert Revenge Mode: Vendra does not like being hit on, even though Ratchet, Neftin, and Clank were quick to threaten Al, Skidd, and the Deserter on her behalf, so it hasn't gotten violent yet.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: More like "the Mercenaries who do Pro Bono work", but while the Progs said that they were mercenaries since meeting the Novalis Chairman, they haven't been paid in bolts yet.
- Punch-Clock Hero: Upon the Novalis Chairman asking if they were mercenaries, the Progs are claiming to be this even though the rewards they get for now are information and gadgets instead of money.
- Shout-Out: Among references to "old Earth anime", Vendra sings her own spin of Do You Want to Build a Snowman from Frozen to rouse her brothers to build a spaceship, so that they could visit Wendell as a surprise.
- Take Over the World: In Chapter 4, the Prog siblings use their gear as children to force the settlers off of Veldin, and they enjoyed their new found reign until they realized that they did not know how to farm.
- Token Adult: Starting in Chapter 17, the Prog siblings take the Grind Boot Inventor with them as part of a deal. In exchange for the Grind Boots, the Progs will drop off the Inventor at Kalebo III where they'll put in a good word for him to get hired.
