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Medical Bay

Few Autobots had the level of patience that Hoist possessed, as was made clear by how calm he remained as he intently listened to Bluestreak. Though one would ever tell by his outward demeanor, the mechanic was quite irritated. It wasn't so much the gunner's incessant chatter that bothered him, but by the fact that he was requesting medical assistance for a self-inflicted hangover.

I'm sure Howlstrike wishes he had a headache., the green mech thought as he shook his head disapprovingly, If you're going to overfill yourself with fuel, than you should face the consequences of your actions, not bother medical personel for a quick fix. Perhaps I should make that clear to Bluestreak.

Hoist was glad that he didn't have a visible mouth, otherwise it would be impossible to hide the grin that he no doubt would have as he decided how he would deal with the hungover gunner.

"I see. You overfilled your tank with high grade and now you have a throbbing headache.", Hoist nodded his head as rubbed his chin, "That does sound like a typical hangover. Of course you know it would be completely unprofessional and unethical of me to let you rummage through our medicine supply, and it would be inappropriate to just give you something without a proper examination and diagnosis."

Hoist stepped away for a moment to grab a datapad and access Bluestrreak's medical history. He looked over it thoughtfully, nodding and shaking his head as he read, occasionally looking back to the gunner. In truth this wasn't at all necessary, but he hoped that it would look convincing to Bluestreak. After several astroseconds of this he put the pad down.

"Well Bluestreak, I'm afraid there's no easy way to do this.", Hoist informed as the laser on his left arm retracted, and a titanium scalpel took it's place, "I'm going to have to look inside your head- or I should say, examine your cranial circuits, but a simple scan just will not suffice."

Hoist brought the scalpel up to Bluestreak's forehead, "I'll have to make an incision up here-", the green mech carefully made an invisible dotted line on the gunner's cranium, careful not to actually cut or hurt him, but make just enough contact for him to feel the cold, sharp metal blade, "And I'll need to remove each component one by one to inspect them. Now, bear in mind that I'll need to keep you conscious and perform this without any anesthetic so that you and I will know if anything goes wrong immediately. So this will no doubt be quite uncomfortable, possibly painful for you. But if you really think you need medication, we can't take any risks of going at it half-aft."

Hoist lowered his arm back to his side and took a small step back from the gunner.

"Or, and this is entirely up to you.", the green mech offered in as friendly a manner as ever, "You could just bear with the pain and wait it out like any other mech with an overfilled fuel tank. But whichever you decide on, I'll do all that I can to make that headache go away."

Med Bay

After removing himself from the surgical suite and witnessing the beginnings of the operation to save Howlstrike, Sideswipe moved across to stand before his golden twin. A gigantic smile spread over his visage as he took a hold of his brother’s upper arms and gave them a tight squeeze.

“Oh man! Sunny, it’s that Pred! You know that one that transforms into a…what was it again…a wolf? Yeah that’s it!”

He took a quick glance over his shoulder at the door just to be sure the ‘Hatchet’ hadn’t followed him out of the suite in order to finish his attack. Once he was sure that the coast was clear Sideswipe turned his attention back to his twin and kept his vocalizer low so as not to attract unwanted attention.

“How much ya wanna bet it was Blue. I mean that kid hates Howlstrike…and I mean hates him! With a passion! Man, wouldn’t that be something?”

It was then that the crimson warrior recalled that the gunner was actually in the med bay. Well, if he was going to find out what actually happened to the Pred turned ‘Bot he’d have to ask…of course he’d need to keep the conversation civil…could he even do that?

Planting a much more toned down smile on his face, Sideswipe regarded the black and silver mech and then looked back to Sunstreaker who he stall held in his grip.

“I think I’m gonna go have a quick chat with my good friend Blue. You stay here…I may need you to pry me off him if he actually starts to annoy me. Be back in a jiff, Sunshine.”

With a pat to his brother’s cheek Sideswipe turned and began to move toward the gunner, but he suddenly stopped when Hoist burst through the surgical suite’s doors and made an unexpected, and very loud, announcement. Sideswipe wasn’t daunted however...instead he flashed the mechanic a dashing smile and sauntered over to where Hoist was then speaking with Bluestreak.

“Oh come on Hoist, toss the kid a bone. He hardly ever…and I mean ever…over energizes.”

Suddenly Sideswipe threw his arm around Bluestreak’s shoulder and tugged the smaller mech closer to his own chassis.

“I mean the kid’s a light-weight…but you can’t blame him for trying. Right, Blue?”

Sideswipe flashed the gunner his trademark crocked smirk and then turned to address the stand-in medic.

“I’m willing to forgo my own repairs…” He raised his arm to optic level and motioned to the bite marks. “…in order for Blue here to get the care he needs.”

Again Sideswipe tugged the slimmer mech closer to his chassis.

Hallways

Jazz was just about to recommend that someone check the security footage when Red Alert (A bit too much like Blurr, who's arrival made Jazz jump out of being startled) suddenly made off for the hanger.

"Frag." Jazz muttered under his breath as he made for the opposite direction, heading for the security camera control room.

The Special Ops Director made it to his destination and opened the door. He quickly closed it behind him and turned to the wall of monitors. He skimmed over all of them and found the locations where he remembered Rodimus being. Jazz sat down at the desk and rewound the tapes to reveal where Rodimus was going and where he had been.

Camera Depot

The results were rather disturbing. Jazz watched as Rodimus leaned over the body of another Autobot and whispered something into his ear. Suddenly, the wounds were healed and the Autobot was a staunch supporter from then on. But the mech was offlined; he couldn't have heard anything. Jazz watched as Rodimus spoke to his supporters and left the area, heading for the mess hall. The white mech fast-forwarded to where Rodimus was in the hanger.

There was a period when there was simple work going on, but it seemed Howlstrike was the target of many vocal taunts and arguments. Apparently he was not a devoted part of the group and he walked away into the deserted hallway. Jazz decided to pause the feed from the Hanger and watch the feed from where Howlstrike was going. He had been missing for a while, and Jazz wanted to know why.

His answers soon came in the form of Hardhead. He wasn't as standoffish as Jazz remembered, and that worried him. The fight insued, leaving Howlstrike injured, but still kicking. It was then when Jazz saw it. The former Predacon's sword vanished from his side and appeared in the hands of Hardhead. The white mech's optics widened to see in one fail swoop the former Predacon's head was cut clean from his body, leaving the deactivated form behind.

Jazz watched as Hardhead walked back to his allies. Jazz caught the other tape up so he may watch it chronologically. Then the Special Ops Director caught where they were going: The Bounce Chamber. He zoomed in upon the console and enhanced the image. The once grainy image of the console transformed into a clear image of the coordinates. This place was obviously where they went. Jazz fast forwarded all of the tapes to find a band of Autobots were called down to that same spot.

<<Red! I went to the Camera Depot to check out our little friends on the tapes, and I found something that you might wanna see.>> Jazz opened a private connection to Red Alert so no one could eavesdrop.

Medical Bay

Bluestreak was a bit disappointed when Hoist informed him that he could not allow the gunner to have access to one of the supply cabinets as it would supposedly be unethical. The black and silver mech didn’t really understand the mechanic’s apprehension as it was only a few painkillers that he requested where no prescription from a medic was actually required. But, be as it may, the talkative ‘Bot gave no argument. “Oh, it’s okay, Hoist. If you could just give me some that would be fine,” the chatterbot replied as the green mech read through his patient’s personal medical history via a datapad. Once he was done, Blue fully expected Hoist to retrieve some pain meds for him. However, that was not the case at all.

Instead, Hoist produced a titanium scalpel from his one arm and proceeded to explain that he would have to cut open Bluestreak’s cranium and take an actual look inside. The mechanic even went so far as to tap on the gunner’s head with the tip of the blade. Blue’s optics widened as he stepped back away from Hoist, who then suggested that he either undergo the painful procedure or just let the cranial ache run it’s course.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting all that,” a shocked Bluestreak responded as Sideswipe then made his way over to where the black and silver mech was standing, placing an arm around him. The red twin seemed to be overly friendly and also on Blue’s side regarding the painkillers he had asked for, telling the green mechanic to give the smaller ‘Bot a break. The crimson warrior was even willing to wait for his own repairs while the gunner received his meds. “Um, thanks, Sideswipe. I really appreciate it,” Bluestreak said as he was pulled in even closer to his new found buddy. The whole situation was a bit embarrassing for ‘Streak as he had already uncharacteristically overfilled his tanks and was now a bit too close to one of the Autobot twins, the same one that had almost knocked Smokescreen clear into the next cycle. Still, any support was better than none at all.

“You know, Hoist, I know perfectly well that a head scan would be more than sufficient and that cutting me open is not required,” Bluestreak pointed out as he returned his attention over to the green mechanic. “Aside from the sarcasm, I understand your unwillingness to help me as I brought this all on myself, like I already admitted to you before. However, I still don’t think that I’m asking for too much in requesting some medicated relief. I have learned my lesson and will think twice before overfilling my tanks again. I’ve had a tough couple of cycles, and I just need a little help in getting rid of this lingering pain. Of course, if you still refuse to help me then I’ll just have to suffer with it, I guess. Primus knows I’ve been through more pain than this in the past, so no worries.”

Armory

Foolish of Prowl to leave the armory unprotected., Red Alert thought as he located a new high-energy particle beam rifle to replace the one he had left on the Ark-22, It'll be too late when he realizes his error, when I bring him to justice for trying to take control of the Autobots like this..... unless this is part of his plan! Slaggit, maybe he wanted me to come here, put me in a false sense of security while he sends his mechs to surround me! Maybe-

Red Alert's paranoid train of thought was interrupted when he received a communication from Jazz. Apparently the special ops director had taken it upon himself to look over security footage rather than chase after Rodimus and his group. Or perhaps that's what Jazz wanted him to think.

You leave me and then claim to have found something interesting. If Prowl wasn't keeping a constant eye on me I would have gone there myself, but I have to keep on the move.... Perhaps Jazz managed to neutralize security around the area, but it could also be yet another trap set for me..... And what about Bluestreak's claims of a cyber-rat infestation? I can't just abandon that....

Loading cartridges into his new rifle, Red Alert was growing increasingly restless and frustrated. Every astrosecond came new evidence, new leads, but nothing concrete to tell him the exact nature of the conspiracy, creating more and more questions and fewer answers.

If there's anywhere that would give me some concrete answers, it's the camera depot. Seeing the surveillance footage is exactly what I need to figure this all out, and hopefully come up with a plan to put an end to all of it. And if it is a trap, at least now I'm better armed.

After holstering his rilfe, Red Alert grabbed a few extra missiles for his launcher, then headed out the armory door. He opened a secure comm-line to the special ops director.

>>Understood, Jazz. I'm on my way.<<

Red Alert transformed to his car mode, and drove down the hallway.


Med Bay

After hearing Sideswipe make a case on Bluestreak's behalf, followed by the gunner's own upset response, Hoist had to nod in shameful agreement. His offer of invasive surgery had been uncalled for, even if it was intended as a joke. Even if the gunner's headache had been self-inflicted and far from life threatening, the green mech should have simply taken care of him, it would have only taken a few astroseconds after all.

"I'm terribly sorry, Bluestreak.", Hoist apologized sincerely, "These past few cycles have been rough on all of us.", though Hoist was referring mainly to Optimus Prime's disappearance, his earlier assault from the Dinobots was still fresh in his memory banks.

Giving a small nod to Sideswipe as the red warrior buddied up with Bluestreak, Hoist turned around and went to a series of compartments against the wall, where number of pharmaceuticals were kept.

"Let's see, let's see....", Hoist said to himself as he looked over the compartments, opening one of the small automated cabinets and looking over the various bottles within, "Ah there it is!"

Hoist retracted the scalpel on his left arm, and extended out a metal clamp which he used to grab one of the larger bottles, opened it and carefully poured two yellow pills into his hand. After closing the bottle, putting it back and shuttting the compartment, he went back to the gunner and handed the two yellow pills to him.

"Here you are, Bluestreak, these should relieve the pain until you've burned off that excess energon. I hope you'll forgive my earlier behavour."

Once Bluestreak had been given the pill, Hoist took a look at Sideswipe, who had already mentioned having an injury of his own. Motioning for the red warrior to seperate from his supposed new best friend, Hoist carefully took hold of the bitten arm to get a closer look.

"My word, how did this happen Sideswipe?", the mechanic asked as he scanned for any kind of infection, "I'm no expert, but it looks like either you got into a tussle with Ravage, or we may have a cyber-rat infestation here."

Hallway- Camera Depot

Red Alert was very relieved to find no resistance whatsoever as he drove down the hallways. To him it seemed that in tranferring so many mechs to the Ark-22, Prowl had left the Guardian mostly desserted and poorly guarded.

For such an intelligent mech, he's certainly been sloppy with this entire operation.

The security director screeched to a halt and transformed to his robot mode as he reached the door to the surveillance room. Giving a quick scan of the area, he opened the door and jumped in, immediately shutting the door behind it. Just in case, he entered in an overly long security code to keep the doors locked from anyone outside. He then turned to the special ops director, who was looking over the various monitors.

"All right, Jazz. What have you found?"

Hallway Outside of the Med Bay

Rather than wait for Red Alert to go to the armory and make his way over to the Med Bay, Blurr had simply raced to the Med Bay to wait for Red Alert there. Of course, it wasn't long before he began to fidget. Sitting still and waiting weren't exactly his strengths. A cyber rat infestation didn't really seem like such a big deal anyway. Blurr started when he thought he heard someone come walking down the hall. The speedster looked...but Red Alert wasn't there.

Blurr let out an impatient huff from his intakes and waited some more until his patience stretched thin once again - which took the span of a few more astroseconds. He looked down the hall again and, seeing no one, decided to check the armory for Red Alert. It couldn't take that long to equip some gear.

Transforming, Blurr raced off to the Armory, tires screeching to a stop as he reached it. He transformed again and looked inside.

"Hey, Red, what's taking so...No one's here. He's not that slow. Nobody's that slow. He's not still on his way, is he?"

Without pause, Blurr raced back to the Bounce Chamber, checking all of the possible routes from there to the Armory. No sign of Red Alert. Blurr ran back to the Armory, and, still seeing no one, raced back to the hallway outside of the Med Bay. Still no Red Alert. The security director had seemed to vanish. Blurr rubbed the back of his cranium, puzzled by his disappearance.

"Strange. But then a lot of strange things have been happening around here lately anyway. Probably should've stuck closer to Red. Who knows where he is now? Wait! Maybe he's already dealing with the cyber rats? But he couldn't have beaten me here. And I waited a while too. Didn't see him at all."

Med Bay

Blurr eventually resigned himself to more waiting. He had nothing else to do. He did perk up when he heard the words "cyber rat" come from the Med Bay. Blurr walked over - if one could really call it a walk - and stepped inside.

"Did someone say cyber rat infestation? Did Red Alert already come this way? He was talking about one too. I came here ahead of him. We were going to take care of it, but...I lost him. He never showed. So, is there anything I can do?"

Blurr tried to keep his string of questions to a minimum speed of coherent. Hopefully, the meaning got across.

--------

Seeing that the situation had resolved itself, Steeljaw was content to leave the Med Bay at Hoist's request. He moved to do just that when Blurr stepped inside, speaking in a barely coherent string of questions. Since none of them had been directed at him, Steeljaw continued on his way out of the Med Bay, sniffing the air mildly for any interesting scents.

Medical Bay

“Of course you appreciate it! I mean, come on.” Sideswipe flashed the young gunner a suave smile as he simultaneously patted Bluestreak hard on the upper arm. His smile remained in place even as Hoist turned away from the two bots and proceeded to rummage through some compartments that were situated against the wall.

While the mechanic’s back was turned Sideswipe took the opportunity to question his close “friend”. The red warrior leaned in close and whispered into Bluestreak’s audial. He was going to find out what the story was with that decapitated Predacon. “Hey, uh, Blue…when was the last time you saw that turncoat Pred, whatshisname, Howl-something- or other? I mean, I haven’t seen him skulking around lately and well I know you like to keep tabs on him…”

Sideswipe quickly moved away from Blue’s audial receptor when Hoist returned with the gunner’s processor-ache med. It was then that the mechanic took a hold of Sideswipe’s arm. The red twin had to stay from pulling away both in pain and embarrassment. Instead he sent the green mech a nonchalant smile. “What? This? Oh it’s nothing…I was helping a friend find a pet. I wound up locating him first and spooked the lil’ guy…gave me this as a reward.”

Sideswipe let out a low chuckle as he gestured his injured arm. “I just need a quick patch job is all.”

Surgical Suite

After Hoist had left the room…something Ratchet had not even noticed…the surgery seemed to slow considerably. So much so that the CMO began angrily muttering to himself about finding out who had done this and promptly beating the ever-loving slag out of them before throwing them into the brig and then sending them to G9…permanently.

“Sick fragger! Unbelievable that we’ve got someone like this waltzing around within our ranks!”

Ratchet set to work at a much quicker pace once all the lines where finally organized. He then began reattaching severed wires and energon lines that would feed Howlstrike’s brain with a steady supply of necessary power. It was arduous but nothing he couldn’t handle.
Several breems passed with Ratchet pouring through innards and mechanics…hands flying fluidly through each and every step in order to save the life of this one mech.

Finally, after what seemed like vorns Ratchet began to reassemble the myriad workings of wires and hoses until one by one everything was reworked and reattached…each move brining him closer to getting Howlstrike stable enough to be placed in a CR chamber.

“Alright, Howl. Let’s just take a quick scan to make sure your brain is getting enough energon…” Ratchet raised his right arm and activated the scanner mounted within his forearm and ran it over the entire length of his patient’s body. The signs looked good.

“Okay. You’ve got good flow…your brain activity is rather sluggish but that’s to be expected considering. Spark is strong…another good sign.” He lowered his arm once his scans were complete and looked down at the prone mech laid out on his surgical slab. “You’re stable enough for me to place you into a CR chamber.”

A scowl formed on Ratchet’s faceplates as he proceeded to release the mounting clamps from the slab’s docking base. The slab’s anti-grav modules initiated making it easier for the CMO to maneuver Howlstrike to one of the CR chambers and place him inside.

“HOIST! Get in here!”

Medical Bay

As Bluestreak remained tucked under Sideswipe’s arm pit, Hoist began apologizing for his lack of understanding when it came to the gunner’s pain-filled head. The black and silver mech chuckled slightly and waved a hand at the green mechanic. “Oh, don’t worry about it, Hoist. I completely understand your reaction, and I never hold a grudge. Unless, of course, your were a ‘Con, then I’d not only hold a grudge but I’d probably shoot you. Heh!”

Bluestreak then watched as Hoist moved towards one of the cabinets to retrieve some pain meds while Sideswipe began to whisper something in his audio receptor about the former Predacon that the gunner had had the pleasure of working with back on Cybertron. Truth be told, Howlstrike was not all that bad of a mech, but ‘Streak would never admit that to anyone outwardly. Of course, there was still a level of mistrust towards anybody that had once wore the Decepticon badge. Blue and Howl would never be the best of buds, but the gunner found that he could at least tolerate the hunter in small doses.

Before Bluestreak could respond to Sideswipe’s inquiry, Hoist returned and handed him two yellow pills that would help ease the pain of the gunner’s cranial ache. “Thanks, Hoist. I really appreciate it. If there’s ever anything I can do to return the favor just let me know. I’m always willing and able to help out a fellow Autobot, especially one that has helped me out like you just did. You pat my back and I’ll pat yours, you know? Heh.” The chatterbot managed to shut up long enough to place the two painkillers in his mouth and swallow them. Hopefully, he would feel some relief sooner rather than later.

The black and silver mech then listened as Sideswipe tried to explain his wounded forearm, mentioning a certain little pet that they both knew was Razr. While the confrontation with Smokescreen was thankfully not brought up, Bluestreak couldn’t help but remember what the rallybot had said about keeping the turbofox’s involvement a secret. “Hey, I thought you were bitten by a cyber-rat,” Blue said casually as he gave Sideswipe a knowing glance. “Probably the same critter I spotted in one of the medical supply rooms a short time ago. I tried to catch it but it got away into one of the air ducts. I let Red Alert know about it, but I’m not sure where he is right now. We didn’t exactly part on good terms the last time I talked with him. I think his paranoia is getting the better of him again. But, what else is new, right?”

It was then that Blurr arrived on scene, asking about Red Alert and cyber-rats. “Yeah, Blurr, I was just talking about that. There’s no rats in here that I know of, but they could be anywhere. I only saw one before, but where there’s one there’s usually more or at least the potential to be more if they start multiplying. Of course, you’d need a girl rat for that to happen, I guess. Maybe I’m wrong and that’s only true with the organic variety. heh.”

Bluestreak then remembered Sideswipe's previous question regarding the former Predacon and turned to look back at the overly friendly red twin. “As for your question about the last time I saw Howlstrike, it was back over on the Ark-22 when we first arrived here in the Sol System. He went looking for Rodimus once the self-proclaimed Prime had wandered off. I haven’t really seen the ex-Pred since. I supposed he’s staying out of trouble, but who really knows with an animal like him. I know Kup vouches for him, but can you really trust a guy that was once a member of the Predacons, one of the most vile ‘Con units in the universe? I mean, how exactly does a mech go from that extreme to the other side so easily? I just can’t fathom it, but what do I know? I’m not in charge, am I?”

Medical Bay

Sunstreaker honestly was interested at all in whoever Ratchet was working on. It wasn’t him and the only other being he could muster much interest in checking to see if he was injured was Sideswipe and he was standing next to him. Whatever poor fool Ratchet was working on, and from the sounds of it was working on quite hard, was no concern of his. He’d been in enough battles to see plenty of nasty injuries and he wasn’t eager to risk getting someone’s fluids bled or splattered on him. His finish had already suffered enough today, no need to risk it further. He was happy to let his twin enjoy the simple entertainment though, as it kept him busy and out of trouble for a least a couple of minutes.

The warrior watched as Sideswipe came scurrying back to him after hearing Ratchet yelling. His twin couldn’t even watch something without getting into trouble. He just seemed to have a natural instinct for it. He listened as Sideswipe informed him of what he had seen. Apparently Howlstrike had gotten injured pretty badly, which only made him a little curious about who could have done it. When his twin suggested Bluestreak he couldn’t help but snicker. “I don’t think he has it in him to do something like that,” he replied, not bothering to whisper.

The yellow Autobot glared as the red one as he gave him a pat on the cheek and ran off to torment Bluestreak. He was definitely going to have to knock some sense into him once they were out of the medbay. He was pushing his limits with him just a bit too hard, best to knock him down a couple of notches so he would remember who he was dealing with here. A smile spread over his face as Hoist investigated his ‘wound.’

“Don’t be modest Sideswipe, Bluestreak is right! He got that would in a mighty battle with some rodent. I thought he had him on the ropes there but what can I say, he was outsmarted by the little creature.” Sunstreaker let out a loud chuckle.

Camera Depot

Jazz turned to face Red Alert as he entered the room, asking what he had found. And to be perfectly honest, he wasn't sure either. Jazz knew what he saw, but he didn't want to believe it.

"Well, Red, I 'aint so sure myself." Jazz said as he rewound the tapes back to the beginning.

He then began to show everything on the tapes. Most was self explanatory, but he provided narration for some parts, especially the incident in the Med Bay.

"Did you see that?" Jazz magnified and enhanced the image of Rodimus leaning over the other transformer, "Rodimus whispers something in his ear and, boom, he heals instantaneously!"

Jazz continued the tape.

"Think that's odd? Got one better. That mech suddenly becomes a devotee to Rodimus, even though he was offlined and could not know that Rodimus had healed him!" Jazz explained, striking a dark and puzzled tone.

Fast forwarding to the Howlstrike incident, Jazz paused the tape as the former Pred was leaving.

"Ever wonder what happened to the ex-Con? Now we know." The Special Ops Director played the tape, until it was almost time for the sword trick that Hardhead pulled, "Keep your eye on the Pred's sword."

He then went frame by frame until the sword vanished from the ex-Con's side, and appeared in the hands of Hardhead. And in an instant, Howlstrike was beheaded by his own sword.

Jazz looked at Red Alert direly and said, "This is Hardhead we are talking about! He just doesn't do these things!"

And with that, the Special Ops Director waited for the paranoid mech's response.