The Vartax Detention Facility is a location featured in Friends with Benefits and mentioned in Into the Nexus. This large space station serves as a prison within the Polaris Galaxy, known for its harsh treatment of inmates. Artemis Zogg briefly commandeered the facility, turning it into his own prison in the Artemis Galaxy, where Ratchet and Clank were held as inmates. Other prisoners included kerchu and space pirates.
The facility is likely situated near the Vartax Outpost, an outpost just beyond the Corvus Sector.[1]
History[]
Five months before the events of Lost and Spaced,[2] after Zogg lost an election to Captain Qwark and the Helios Program was terminated, he instructed his subordinate, Mr. Klink, to gather his worker robots and meet him at the Vartax Outpost, site of an abandoned robot factory.[1] Following this, Mr. Klink assumed the role of warden.
At some point, the agorian General Glahm became an inmate.[a] Glahm developed a friendship with Cronk and Zephyr,[b] who had been undercover for months and had an escape plan involving the Sector Nine Low-Security Maintenance Wing. They insisted on taking Ratchet and Clank along.[5]
Ratchet and Clank were held at the facility for three months, during which they explored escape routes. Using the recycling plant was one idea, but it was rendered impossible by electromagnetic versa-locks on each hatch.[6] Eventually, Glahm initiated a fight with Ratchet, deliberately getting both sent to the Sector Nine airlock for execution, where Cronk and Zephyr rescued them.[5] Meanwhile, Clank incited a buccaneer to start a prison riot.[7] In the chaos, Glahm remained behind to provide an escape route[8] but later managed to escape to Veldin.[3] Mr. Klink was executed by Zogg due to his failures.[9]
After Zogg's defeat, control of the Vartax Detention Facility reverted to the Polaris Defense Force. Shortly before Into the Nexus, Vendra Prog received a quintuple life sentence at Vartax for her assault on Pollyx Industries and kidnapping of Pollyx and several staff members.[10] En route to Vartax on the Nebulox Seven Prison Ship, her brother Neftin Prog and the mercenaries Thugs-4-Less orchestrated her escape.[11]
Characteristics[]
Under Zogg's administration, the Vartax Detention Facility was notorious for its harsh conditions. Inmates faced Jargonian needle torture, and Zogg's statute 35-77 mandated airlock ejection for minor offenses.[12] Organic inmates were served month-old drophyd bisque and fried war grok tongue as a "celebration" of the Artemis Galaxy's expansion, while robots received only three minutes of maintenance and battery recharging daily from 08:00 AM to 08:03 AM.[6]
A Courtney Gears poster hung on the wall of the cell where Ratchet and Clank were detained. Their cell was adjacent to that of a space pirate buccaneer.
Notes[]
Annotations[]
- ↑ Glahm's outrage over Zogg's destruction of the Agorian Battleplex suggests he may have been imprisoned by Zogg in retaliation.[3] However, the exact timing of his imprisonment remains unclear.
- ↑ When Ratchet questioned Glahm about his connection to Cronk and Zephyr, Glahm evaded the question,[4] leaving the details ambiguous.
Citations[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lost and Spaced, p. 20
- ↑ Lost and Spaced, p. 18
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Multiple Organisms, p. 19
- ↑ Friends with Benefits, p. 17
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Friends with Benefits, p. 10
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Friends with Benefits, p. 4
- ↑ Friends with Benefits, p. 11-21
- ↑ Friends with Benefits, p. 19
- ↑ Friends with Benefits, p. 22
- ↑ Into the Nexus script § "The Infamous Prog Twins"
- ↑ Into the Nexus script § "The Nebulox Seven"
- ↑ Friends with Benefits, p. 12
References[]
- Fixman, TJ (2010). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 2: Friends with Benefits) [Book]. Wild Storm.
- Fixman, TJ (2010). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 3: Lost and Spaced) [Book]. Wild Storm.
- Fixman, TJ (2011). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 5: Multiple Organisms) [Book]. Wild Storm.