The Pumping Station was eerily quiet. The local metal heads were vanquished and the wild life knew better to mess with them. The only sounds were Daxter complaining about his trip in the pipes but Jak knew it was better to just let him keep going.

Just then a spaceship flew across the sky. The engine noise dwarfed every other sound and it turned at a downward angle. Jak ran towards it with Daxter trailing behind.

Daxter jumped on his waist and yelled "Jakkkkkk, leave it alone. Curiosity ain't killing this ottsel"

Jak laughed and said "Come on Dax, where's your sense of adventure?"

Jak ran up the platform and Daxter climbed up to his shoulder. He sped up and Daxter held on his shoulder guard tighter.

Jak jumped from the platform ledge onto one of the pipes. These platforms rose and fell so he had to time it right. Jak's experience with the precursor platforms back home made it old news. He wondered if Haven's mechanical engineers got the idea from them.

He missed the feeling of adventure, the feeling of chasing the unknown. His time in prison did little to squash his native wanderlust. However it came with it's own drawbacks but Jak pushed that dread down. Every moment free was a "screw you" to the Baron and his captors.

He will get his revenge but he was gonna savor this freedom first.

Jak reached the clearing where the ship crashed. This tech looked unlike he had ever seen in Sandover or Haven but he couldn't be sure.

Keira would know...and Jak pushed the guilt back down.

Daxter jumped down, giving the ship's design some thought. Daxter spent more time in Haven and might know what it was. Jak's glad Daxter survived unscathed but wished he found him sooner.

"It's kinda cartoony looking don't ya think?" Daxter's statement shook him out of his thoughts.

Jak looked closely and saw what he meant. It looked like one of their drawings they did as children.

Just then the hull started to shake and Daxter hid behind his leg. The cockpit flew open violently letting out a ton of smoke.

Jak prepared for trouble but a woman with long flowing pink hair stumbled out instead. She was oddly dressed in a white outfit and a skirt. It had black lining and a round hat with a pinkish gem in the middle. The hat had cartoony eyes and it looked tired.

The pair watched her jump up and survey the damage. She spoke out loud in gibberish but her body moved as if she was excited and a little embarrassed.

Jak wondered if she was talking to them and coughed loudly. She turned and they locked eyes.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She rushed towards him and talked rapidly. He noticed she was pretty and felt a blush coming on. He looked at his feet to hide it and realized she was floating. He looked up and saw two bat wings protruding from her back.

His eyes went wide. He met his first alien.

She pushed her face super close to him,and he noticed she was mad. He noticed how small her ears were and she gasped, reaching out to touch his big ears. He jumped back and Daxter climbed up his shoulder and leaned out for a better look.

Pretty girl or not, personal space mattered.

She reached out to touch him but he spoke harshly. "Listen sister, not just anyone could pet orange lightning."

She squealed even louder and grabbed him sizing him up. She even cradled him to her chest. Daxter went from cautious to enjoying himself. He even raised his eyebrows at Jak and Jak rolled his eyes in response.

Jak coughed "Are you alright?"

She rummaged through her satchel and pulled out a square box triumphantly. It looked like a toy remote control and she turned a few dials.

A female voice proclaimed "new language assimilated". It had a neutral tone.

The traveller asked "Can you hear me now?" She looked hopeful.

Jak and Daxter nodded together.

"Great, it will still take a while before I can read your writing but we should be able to talk better. It's so cool to meet people from other worlds. My ship crashed but I can fix that. Eventually. I'm Lala Satalin Deviluke and what's your name, handsome?

Jak rubbed his hands through his hair, trying not to blush. Daxter snickered but Jak glared at him. Looking back at her he said, "I'm Jak and he's Daxter"

He outstretches his hand and she wrings it enthusiastically. She's got a grip.

"Yay I have two new friends and aliens to boot. One of them is an animal that talks. Nana and Momo would be so thrilled. Can all animals talk here?"

As if on cue one of the lizard crawlers comes forward from the bushes. Before Jak can mention anything Lala rushes towards it.

"Can you talk too, Mr. lizard?"

She takes out a box and Jak recognizes it's a camera. She aims to take a picture and the lizard snarls. The lizard whips out it's tongue at her and she fumbles with the camera. Jak tosses the rock at it and it scampers off, still snarling.

"Yeah you better run before I sic Jak on you" Daxter pipes in.

Lala turns around and snaps a photo. Jak flinched but Daxter started making poses. A robotic voice interrupts them.

"Miss Lala what are you doing? The ship!"

Jak and Daxter are spooked and look around for the source. Lala moves forward and peers over the hull.

"Oh yeah… this is gonna be a while. But Peke, we got offworld and that's what counts.."

Lala crawls on top of the hull and bends over. Daxter admires the view and Jak blushes. He

notices she has a black tail with a spade at it's tip.

The robotic voice continues speaking "We don't even know if this world has the parts we need. Besides, who are these strange men?"

Jak realizes the voice is coming from the hat. The cartoon eyes look normal and the banner on the flap lights up when it speaks.

Lala looks up and responds "Oh ya know, Jak and Daxter. My new friends who do something." She stops and ponders, putting her index finger on her chin.

Daxter smells an opportunity.

"Oh we're tour guides, right Jak?".

Daxter winks at Jak. Jak breathes deeply and starts speaking.

"Yeah, We're amateur tour guides. We like exploring and thought we'd make a few dollars off it. We were just wandering around when we found you."

Daxter gave him the thumbs up. The best lies have a bit of truth in them and he's unsure how much he wanted to tell her about the Underground.

Lala jumps down and rummages through her purse.

"Great, how much would it cost for a tour?"

She handed Jak some pieces of paper and coins. He couldn't read the writing and the faces had small ears like Lala. Guess they didn't use credits or orbs on her planet.

"Don't worry sweetheart we'll give you the new friend discount." Daxter puts on the biggest smile he could muster. Jak followed suit and hoped it looked right, smiling isn't something he practiced recently.

"Miss Lala, we don't have time for this. You have to stay and fix the ship."

"But Peke, I wanna go explore with Jak and Daxter" Lala whines childishly.

"It's nice you met the locals, even if that one looks like a ruffian. Now fix your ship like a good girl."

Peke's tone reminded Jak of an overbearing mother confronting a spoiled child. It made the whole scene comical. Lala pouts and Jak walks up to the hull. He and Daxter climb up and look inside.

"We can help" The machinery looked alien and Jak scratched his head. "Ok we can't help but we can keep you company."

"Really?" Lala looked genuinely surprised.

"Of course. Our night's free" Daxter gives Jak a thumbs up sign.

Lala grabbed Jak in a tight hug. Jak was startled but enjoyed the touch. He felt Lala's breasts rub against his chest and blushed even deeper. He hid his face in her hair which smelt great. He put his arms around her back, carefully avoiding her wings. Lala ends the hug, fixing her hair and avoiding Jak's gaze.

She finishes and proclaims "You're very kind Jak" Jak looks at her bashfully but doesn't respond. "I hope everyone here is as kind as you are"

Jak didn't have the heart to tell her how wrong she is.