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Corridors Approaching the Energon Bar

Though he was hovering in his saucer mode, Cosmos couldn't help but shake as the Dinobot's threats only seemed to continue. He tried to block them all out as he led them to their destination.

"Probably just one kick and I'd lose.", he replied to Slag's earlier question, trying in vain to defuse their hostility with some kind of humor, "But then security would probably put you in a holding cell for assault, so you'd lose too. Really, I don't think anyone would win in that game."

Since the Dinobot flamethrower was making his way ahead of the rest it was easy for Cosmos to stay away from him. And after the desert warrior's own threat he made every effort to keep from Snarl as well. Once their commander, Grimlock, had made it clear just how impatient his troops were, Cosmos picked up the pace.

Goodness, this is almost as bad as being chased by Astrotrain or Blast Off.

Thankfully they were almost at the bar, something that even the dim-witted Sludge could notice. A number of mechs were crowding around the bar.

"Me Sludge think we missed something.", Sludge commented as they saw one of the shipyard's technicians being escorted by security in restraints.

Now that he had the Dinobots where they wanted to be, Cosmos landed and transformed to his robot mode. He took a few steps back to get out of the way of the security officers.

"Uh, hi there, Warhaul.", Cosmos awkwardly waved as the mech was taken away, "He's actually one of our top technicians here.", he informed the Dinobots.

"Hmmm,", Sludge mumbled as he thought, "Me Sludge don't think he look beat up. Maybe he not get in a fight."

"So anyway,", Cosmos said out loud to the Dinobots as he motioned toward the door, "Here's the shipyard's galaxy-famous Energon Bar, enjoy!"

Thankful that the more dangerous part of his assignment with the Dinobots was over, Cosmos turned toward their commander, Grimlock, who had seemed the least threatening of the group.

"All right then, Grimlock", he said, a little less nervous and more upbeat then with the other Dinobots, "Shall I take you to Countdown?"

Sludge wondered what had happened in the bar. Had there been a fight? Or was someone just too drunk? The jungle warrior shrugged, it didn't matter. He and the other Dinobots would get some drinks, and maybe a fight would break out while they were there. Or maybe not. It didn't matter to Sludge as much as the others, since he would probably just follow their lead as usual.

"We get drinks now, Snarl?", Sludge asked, then turned to the smallest Dinobot, "You drink too, Swoop?"

-------------------

Energon Bar

Before he recited more from the Covenant of Primus, Highcall stopped. Standing on top of the table he could see and hear how the bar's patron's were reacting, and he could tell that his words were falling on deactivated audio sensors.

Primus, he prayed, looking up to the sky, Why won't they listen? Why don't they understand? What can I do to make your words reach them?

The religous engineer was about to recite something specifically for Skyfall, when Kick-Off and a security team entered.

And here it comes again...., Highcall shuddered, though he knew at some point station security would get involved.

As soon as Kick-Off ordered, Highcall got down from the table. This wasn't the first time he would get lectured about "forcing" his beliefs on others. Of course this time even Highcall had to admit he may have crossed a line by firing on Warhaul's drink.

"Yes, I-" Highcall began to answer the security mech, when Skyfall interrupted him. It seemed the weapons engineer disagreed with the way security was handling things, and he was more than happy to point it out to everyone, going so far as to get right up close and touch Kick-Off. Then, for seemingly no reason other than to get more attention to himself, Skyfall made an announcement about arming everyone with the most advanced weapons.

Highcall kept quite though. At first he looked at Skyfall, then he turned his attention back to Kick-Off. Slowly, without any sudden moves, he reached into his holster, grabbed his pistol, and set in on the table.

"He's right, I did fire.", Highcall admitted, "I tried to talk Warhaul away from his path of self-destruction, but he wouldn't listen. So I to make my point clear I took his drink and I destroyed it with my laser pistol."

Highcall looked to Skyfall. He was well aware of the mech's reputation, and unlike many of the mechs who worked at the station he saw the arrogance and the hubris above the genius of his works. The religious engineer shook his head at the weapons designer.

"Primus is the one and only true judge of our character, he alone will see the truth in our sparks.", he spoke to Skyfall, "When the time comes, those who burn for His glory will light the universe for all eternity. And those who are fuelled by their own glory will burn out and be consumed by the Chaosbringer."

His point made, Highcall looked to Kick-Off and held out his hands in front of him, waiting for the security mech to place some kind of restraining device on his wrists.

"I don't regret anything I've done here, but I'm sure I've done enough to deserve this. I promise that I won't resist."

Main Shipyard - Control Room

“Yeah, ambitious to a fault sometimes,” Erector replied to Stockade as the weapons engineer seemed to accept the foremech’s judgment regarding how to handle the hungover Grindcore. The minibot could tell that Stockade was not entirely comfortable with allowing the heavy lifter to work at all, even if it was just to polish the Trion's hull. However, respect between supervisors often superseded disagreements such as these. The grey and yellow ‘Bot knew his worker best and thus knew how to best deal with him.

Erector then considered Stockade’s last question. “How long?” The foremech paused for a moment, scratching his chin guard with his actuators. “Well, you are right. I’ve known Grindcore since before Megatron rose to power and the great war erupted all around us. Believe it or not but back then both him and I were a part of a labor force that also included those who would later become known as the Constructicons. Of course, before the war, we were all on the same side and Grindcore and I were equals. I wasn’t yet his boss as I reported to Scrapper while he reported to Grapple. After everything went to slag, I was kicked out of the Constructicons in favor of Hook. A short time later, I joined the Autobots and eventually found my way here to the shipyards where ‘Core and I were reunited as foremech and subordinate.”

Erector paused briefly as he remembered those events which occurred so long ago but seemed like only last cycle. “You know, in a way, I understand how Grindcore feels being rejected and all. I felt the same way when Scrapper replaced me. However, it was all for the greater good as I quickly came to realize that I had initially chosen the wrong side. Thankfully, I found my true calling here with the Autobots and have been working to build the best warships possible ever since.”

The minibot let out a sigh as he kept his tiny optics fixated on Stockade. “I gotta tell ya, Grindcore adjusted well to being under my command. I supposed it helped that we were already friends beforehand. Unfortunately, he just never adjusted to the Wreckers not wanting him, and it was around that time that he went from just being a heavy lifter to a heavy drinker, as well. I only wish I could do more for him besides proto-sitting his sorry aft. Maybe someday he’ll learn that I’m only trying to help him, you know?”

Approaching Energon Bar

Snarl followed the annoying green saucer as he flew through the corridors, leading the Dinobots to the energon bar. The Desert Warrior found it amusing when Cosmos tried to reason with Slag as though the flamethrower would care or even be contained by the holding cells of the shipyards. It would certainly take more than these simple security mechs to bring down a Dinobot.

“Ha! No prison here can hold us, little space-bot,” Snarl corrected Cosmos as they reached the bar’s entrance where the tiny mech returned to robot mode. They were just in time to see some mech named Warhaul get drug away in restraints. “Yeah, we missed something, Sludge,” the Desert Warrior said, glancing over at his dim-witted comrade. “But not too much, me think. We change that, though.”

Once the drunken ‘Bot was carried away, Cosmos told them all to enjoy the galaxy-famous energon bar before turning his attention to Grimlock and offering to take him to see Countdown. The Jungle Warrior wasted no time in asking if they could go have a drink now. “Heh. Yes, Sludge, we get drinks now,” Snarl replied with a slight grin that quickly disappeared as though it had never exited in the first place. “Follow me. You too, Swoop.

Energon Bar

After he had crossed the threshold and entered the establishment, Snarl peered around the room to see a variety of mechs going about their business. He didn’t know any of them and he didn’t really care to as the bar, itself, was the only real thing he wanted to become acquainted with at the present cycle. Stomping his way towards the bar, the Desert Warrior made no attempt to go around any of the patrons that stood in his direct path. Thankfully, everyone nearby managed to avoid coming into contact with the solar-powered Dinobot and thus a physical encounter was prevented for the time being.

“Bartender!” Snarl bellowed as he approached the bar and slammed his fist down on the top. “Me want round of high grades for me and other Dinobots! Now!” The smaller barkeep shook in his circuits as he gazed up at the much larger Desert Warrior and his three equally large companions.

“Of...course. Right away!” The bartender replied as he quickly filled four tall glasses full of high grade energon and placed them cautiously in front of the Dinobots. He then backed away to where he felt more safe and secure.

“Good 'Bot,” Snarl said as he slid three of the glasses down to his comrades before grabbing his own and holding it up into the air. “To us Dinobots! May all others tremble before our might!” The plated warrior proclaimed before he chugged down his entire glass of high grade in one gulp. Slamming the empty container down on top of the bar, he glared back at the scared mech on the other side. “Mmmmm, that great stuff! Me want another!”

Corridors Approaching Berth-6

Cloudburst had stopped and engaged in a little bit of friendly staff banter on the way to the docking area that had been assigned to hold the Dinobot vessel. More than one Autobot had expressed a certain degree of fear and uncertainty at the Dinobots being here. Cloudburst reassured them as best he could, even as some of the same doubts--or at the very least, concerns--filtered their way through his own thought processes. Even so, he took the occasion not to add to them or contribute anything further to the gossip. No need to make Countdown's job any harder than it was.

As he walked in to the berth, he didn't see any Dinobots. Had Cosmos lead them off already? That was quick. He had fully expected Cosmos and the others to still be standing here, the little space-bot unwittingly overloading their audio receptors with idle chit-chat. No such luck. Oh well. He would catch up with Grimlock and the others and see if he could get a real handle on what was going on later.

"Where'd the Dinos go?" Cloudburst asked to one of the passing technicians.

"Uhh...went with Cosmos. Energon bar I think," the tech said, barely stopping to give an answer and quickly on his way as soon as he had finished answering the question.

Huh...that's gonna go over well, Cloudburst said as he walked toward the ship itself, hoping that he would be able to get aboard and have a look around.

Energon Bar

Kick-Off didn’t even get the chance to hear Highcall’s explanation before another Autobot interrupted him. He recognized him as one of the top weapons designers on the station, Skyfall. The security chief had files on everyone on board with top level security clearance as a precaution should they go missing or worse. He scowled at the other Autobot before he turned back to Highcall and listened to his explanation. Once he was done he motioned for his men to take him into custody. He then turned to address Skyfall.

When he spoke Kick-Off took on his official, no nonsense tone, his face completely neutral. “Three things, Skyfall I believe it is? First, I appreciate your assistance in this security matter. Rest assured that Highcall will be punished in due accordance with station security measures and protocols. Second, don’t tell me how to do my job, ever. Third, remove your hand from my person or I will charge you with assault, or, at the very least, obstruction of justice.”

Hopefully that would get the scientist to back off. He barely knew the other Autobot and he already found him irritating. Kick-Off didn’t have the time to waste with him though. He had to deal with Highcall. Imprisonment wasn’t likely to be necessary but he would have to be punished. He had gone too far this time. If that wasn’t enough of an annoyance he watched as the Dinobot finally arrived. He was going to have to double those patrols ASAP.

*

Side Burn was slowly sipping his drink and observing the aftermath of Highcall’s display when the Dinobots came stomping in. They were hard to miss really, being bigger and bulkier then most every other Autobot in the room, even some of the big labor brutes. Just on appearance alone they lived up to their fierce reputation. Several other Autobots in the bar moved aside for them, a few even leaving to give the Dinobots ample space. Side Burn however didn’t move an inch.

The blue Autobot lifted his glass and downed the last of its contents. He had heard stories about the Dinobots, everyone had. Everyone also knew that they had disappeared ages ago. There had to be a pretty fantastic story behind their absence, and he couldn’t help but be curious about it. At the very least it would make for some interesting listening, assuming the Dinobots would talk at all. Their reputation did mention that most of them were pretty anti-social. Then again Side Burn was pretty charming, so maybe he could get them to speak up. If he was really lucky then maybe he would get something he could use in a story of his own, just to make it more exciting for the lovely femmes.

The warrior put his empty glass down and stood up from his booth. He casually made his way to the bar where the Dinobots were lingering. He sized them up and figured Snarl was his best bet. Grimlock looked like he was leaving and he heard Sludge was dumb as a rock and Slag was best left alone. That left Swoop and Snarl, and Snarl was closer. Side Burn motioned for the barkeeper. “Barkeep, get around of drinks for the Dinobots, legends who walk among us once again! Just put it on my tab please, and get me a drink too.” The bartender frowned but went to get the drinks.

Side Burn smiled at Snarl and pulled up a seat next to him. “I have to say it’s a real pleasure seeing warriors like you around again. Everyone figured you were goners ages ago. Having you guys back will definitely help the war, heck, it’ll help everybody but the Cons right?” He chuckled at his own joke as he scooped up his fresh drink and took a large gulp from it. “You guys must have a heck of a story about where you’ve been all this time, and I’d love to hear. I just have one quick question first though.” He took another drink from his glass. “Are there any girl Dinobots?”

*

Grimlock stepped into the bar and took a glance around. There were a few security mechs around, a pair of them taking someone away now. More were dealing with a couple of other mechs nearby. It did look like they had missed something, like Sludge had said. That was just as well. Barroom brawls could be crazy enough, throw in his Dinobots and walls often came down. While they would probably enjoy it and could use it to blow off steam (heck, he could say the same for himself) it would draw a bit too much attention to them.

The Dinobot commander turned back to Cosmos. He considered telling the Dinobots to behave, but he knew that would likely have the opposite affect on them, not to mention would seem a bit out of the ordinary for him. They would have to cause some ruckus at least; it would probably be expected of them. They just had to cause the right amount to keep people satisfied without getting heavily scrutinized. It was a tricky line to walk.

“Yes, we go now,” he replied to the awkward little mini-bot. Even by the sometimes odd standards of the Autobot military Cosmos was unusual. He must be an excellent flier since he didn’t seem particularly skilled at anything else. He was small and probably not very strong, and he was certainly far from agile or fast in his robot mode. Flying outside the station was probably the best use they could find for him. Still, he had to give him credit for not running away in terror as the Dinobots hurtled various threats at him.

Energon Bar

As he promised Highcall allowed Kick-Off's security mechs to take him away without any resistance, though he gave Skyfall one last piercing look before they left.

"To drink in excess is to allow the Chaosbringer's corruption into your sparks!", he shouted for all the mechs in the bar to hear just before he was led out of the bar, "DON'T OVERLOAD YOURSELVES!"

----------------------

With a nod Sludge followed behind Snarl into the bar. The big jungle warrior walked in, his shear size intimidating several bots who were about to leave through the same door. He looked down at the mechs, including a couple members of security who were escorting another bot out, and gave a smirk.

"Good Autobots know we Dinobots are strongest.", he gloated, "Me Sludge like when little Autobots know their place."

Already frightened out of the way by Snarl, all of the patrons stayed out of Sludge and the other Dinobot's path as they went to the bar, the larger jungle warrior's stomps the loudest of the group's. As the desert warrior ordered the drinks, Sludge went to the stool right next to Snarl and tried to sit. Not surprisingly the seat's metal support creaked and buckled under Sludge's large weight, and the jungle warrior stood back up after a few astroseconds.

"Me Sludge think these chairs too weak.", he said, looking at the stool that had crumpled down several feet, "You need stronger chairs for me, Sludge!", he complained to the quivering little bartender as his drink was placed in front of him.

Sludge grabbed the mug in front of him and lifted it in the air with his Dinobot brothers, "To us Dinobots!", he hollered in response to Snarl.

Immediately Sludge brought the mug to his lips and started to chug. He slowed down his drinking, however, as he noticed the taste was much better than what he'd had to drink on the Guardian and the Ark-22.

This good, me Sludge think me enjoy this fuel.

Once the mug was empty Sludge followed Snarl's lead. He slammed the mug as hard as he could onto the bar, shattering the glass into thousands of little pieces that spread across the counter.

"Oops.", the jungle warrior said awkwardly, still holding the mug handle in his hand, "Me Sludge think you need stronger glasses too."

Not moving, and not bothering to clean it up, Sludge just stared at the broken glass in front of him, when he noticed Side Burn coming up to Snarl and ordering the Dinobots another round. The jungle warrior listened in as the blue warrior tried to make conversation with the desert warrior. While Sludge was watching, one of the bar's employees quickly and nervously cleaned up the broken mug, as Sludge chuckled a little at Side Burn's question about girl Dinobots.

Then Sludge looked back in front of him. The mess was gone, and a second mug full of energon substitute was there.

He looked at the handle of his last mug which he was still holding in his hand.

Sludge shrugged, and casually tossed the broken mug handle over his shoulder, unaware that he was throwing it at Skyfall.

---------------------

Cosmos ducked out of reflex as he was startled by the shouting and smashing made by the four DInobots at the bar.

Oh bot, maybe bringing them to the bar wasn't such a good idea. I certainly hope Countdown or Kick Off don't hold this against me.

Though relieved that Kick Off and security were already there if things got out of hand, he hoped that the security chief didn't find out that Cosmos was the one who brought them there. Once Grimlock had said he was ready to see the Shipyard's commander, Cosmos gave him a quick nod.

"All right then, follow me!", Cosmos replied and hurried out.

-----------------------

Corridors outside the Energon Bar

Cosmos waddled as fast as he could, hoping not annoy the Dinobot commander with his relatively slow pace. He could have transformed and shown the way in his flying saucer mode like earlier, but Cosmos had already used up a good amount of fuel just from his earlier travels in space. Besides that, his alternate just felt too impersonal and anti-social. Now that he didn't have to worry about the angrier Dinobots literally kicking him around, he prefered to be able to speak with Grimlock faceplate-to-faceplate.

"You know,", Cosmos said, hoping to engage the Dinobot commander in a conversation as they went, "There's a lot of things to do here at the Shipyards besides the bar. We have a number of training and recreational facilities you and your Dinobots can use if.... you or your troops need to burn some excess energy, or you just get bored and need something to do."

After some more walking Cosmos stopped at a turbolift. With the push of a button the doors split open.

"This will take us to the command hub where you can speak with Countdown.", Cosmos informed Grimlock.

Cosmos stepped in, thankful that no other bots were in there to possibly anger the Dinobot commander. He stood to the side to give Grimlock space, since it looked like it might be a tight squeeze for the much larger Dinobot.

"And I should tell, you came here to Alpha Shipyards at the perfect time. We have quite the event coming up soon.", Cosmos cheerfully informed.

Alpha Shipyards--Brig

Warhaul went through varying degrees of blinding anger and bemused contentment as he had been walked through the various corridors of the shipyards. Most of them seemed familiar, even if the overload on his systems was affecting his processors so much that he didn't really care one way or the other. When he relaxed, the walk was pleasant. When he got angry, the various grips got tighter. There was little he could really do in these restraints anyway.

"Sleep it off," one of the guards said, looking at a datapad as Warhaul was pushed in to his cell and the restraints were removed. "Looks like you've got an early shift tomorrow. Systems should be processing at normal rates by then."

Warhaul looked up at the guards. His superiors were definitely not going to be happy with this. He was going to have to use some careful language in his report. Especially for the more detail-oriented ones.

"Nite-nite," the other guard said, stepping out of the cell as it sealed shut behind him.

"Yeah, yeah," Warhaul grunted, before slumping over.

Main Shipyard - Control Room

The story Erector spoke was a very telling tale, especially in regards to Grindcore. However, Erector mentioning that he had known Grindcore for vorns before the war ever broke out struck a chord with the weapons specialist. Although he wanted to cut in to discuss the two mech’s past, Stockade remained respectfully silent taking in all the information Erector was feeding him.

“Yeah, I can understand the rejection being a source of his current…um…problem, but still the mech’s gotta find some help. Primus forbid he comes on shift and starts working on one of the ships and, I don’t know, he winds up falling head long into an exhaust array.”

Stockade leaned forward in his chair and rubbed his forehead. This whole discussion was difficult but it certainly could not be put on the back burner, so to speak, until something actually did happen…and it definitely would it was only a matter of time.

“I’m wonderin’, Erector, if you might be too close to the problem. Just here me out. You two have known one another for Primus knows how long. You’ve worked beside one another before the war and you’re working together now. You know each other really well...”

The large mech let out a sigh and looked up at the minibot…concern flooding his expression.

“Look, he’s changed, that’s somethin’ you gotta admit. Sure he was…and still is…disappointed about being rejected and that changed him. You’ve tried to help but he’s still holding on to that old hurt. There ain’t nothin’ you can say or do now that’ll help him. You’re his friend, you know him…he needs to realize that he’s the only one that can help himself.”

Stockade shook his head and stood from his chair.

“He’s gonna get someone hurt. He’s gonna get himself hurt…need to stop that before it happens.”

He shrugged his shoulders and took a good long look at the video feed of Grindcore working to polish the Trion’s hull to a brilliant glossy glow.

“Maybe time in the brig will help him realize that he needs help.”

Energon Bar

Silently the Dinobot flamethrower pushed his way forcefully through the doors and into the bar. The mechs and femmes located next to the entranceway had little to time to move out of the angry mech’s way. Some were tossed out of the way while others were knocked to the side.

Slag let a slight smirk work its way onto his face for an astrosecond before it faded into its normal deep scowl. It felt good to be standing in the middle of a room and witness the terror that over took its occupants just by your presence.

Slag took a good long look around and bullied his way to the bar where he grabbed a hold of the barkeep by the collar and growl out his order.

“High grade, now.”

He was met with a frightened nod before he was dropped down landing hard of his feet. He let out a whimper and rushed to fill the Dinobot’s order, which arrived only seconds later. Slag glare at the bartender before lifting the glass and downing its entire contents.

He was prepared to grab a hold of the same mech to ‘place his next order’ when he heard someone mention he was buying he and his teammates their next round of drinks. Slag leaned back to see Side Burn sitting next to Snarl and Sludge and asking some ridiculous question.

The Dinobot moved away from his location at the opposite end of the bar and stalked to where his comrades where sitting. He came to a stop right behind the blue warrior and let out a deep snarl. Putting a large hand on Side Burn’s should Slag gave it a tight squeeze, enough to bend the armor but not enough to rip through it.

“You’re in my seat, runt.”
____

Skyfall kept his hand positioned on the security director’s shoulder as he shifted his weight to his right leg taking on a relaxed position. He then glanced over his shoulder to see the security officers slap Highcall in stasis cuff. ‘ Bout slaggin’ time someone did something about him.

The weapons engineer turned his attention to Kick-Off who was standing not far from the red mech. Although he despised authority, security mechs or members of the Ethics Committee, Skyfall would always outwardly show them as much respect as he thinks they deserve. Which wasn’t much.

Kick-Off’s three responses to the engineer’s actions started off quite promising, in fact Skyfall was even sporting a broad smirk beneath his faceplate, but that waned when the security director moved to his second point. From behind his visor Skyfall narrowed his optics in disgust. Had he retraced the optics covering Kick-Off would bear witness to his true distain for the mech.

When the third point was made Skyfall quickly removed his hand and held them both up in surrender. He took a step backwards not wanting to stir the other mech’s ire.

“Hey, you got it. I certainly don’t want to impinge on your work my friend. After all we all know how difficult it is to keep all of us under control.”

The engineer put his hands down and placed them on his hips.

“And we all know you’re doing a bang up job. Keep it up Kick-Off.”

Skyfall was ready to say something more when he was hit by something hard. Whatever it was hit his on the side of his head cracking his visor and whipping the mech’s head to the side. As soon as he recovered he quickly brought his hand to his face feeling a warm slickness trailing down his cheek.

“What the frag?!”

He quickly took a look around and then turned back to Kick-Off.

“Well, don’t just stand there! Go find the sludge licker who hit me with whatever that was!”

Medical Bay

For joors Pharma worked on the mech that was brought in by his associates. Thanks to their quick thinking and even quicker action the mech was going to make it. Pharma was even able to repair the laborer’s legs. He’d be able to return to duty within few cycles. One of his faster turn outs. Score another point for the CMO.

Pharma had just finished with his patient and began to clean the energon, fuel and oil from his hands with a rag when he looked over his shoulder and spotted Ambulon. The medic was busy cleaning and carefully putting all of the emergency equipment away until it was needed again. Maybe I was a bit harsh earlier.

The CMO let out a heavy sigh before tossing the rag onto a tray. Pharma then turned around and made his way to Ambulon. The spotty orange ‘Bot jumped and quickly turned around with a laser scalpel in hand when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The scowl on the officer’s face caused Ambulon to take several steps backward unintentionally knocking over the cart all of the equipment was stored on. The loud clatter phased neither mech as they stood staring at one another.

It was Pharma who made the first move. Faster than the former Decepticon could counter the CMO slapped the scalpel out of his hand and shoved him into the back wall. He let out a surprised gasp as he felt Pharma press him further against the obstruction. The ‘Bot flier then moved in close until he was face to face with the frightened medic.

“I didn’t think you’d stoop so low as to pull a weapon on me. I should call in Kick-Off…have him take you to the brig where you belong!”

He pulled his face away and let out a snort of disgust.

“Or better yet, report you straight to Countdown. I’m sure he’d be able to find you a more suitable location where you couldn’t do any harm.”

Ambulon tried to wriggle his way out of Pharma’s hold but his superior was much larger and slightly stronger. His only option to get away was to talk…something he always wanted to avoid.

“I’m sorry, Pharma. I never expected you to do that. You never have before.”

The scowl on the CMO’s face melted as he pulled back and turned away letting his subordinate free to move away from the wall.

“You’re right. I never have done it before. I wasn’t thinking. I should have thought before doing.”

He looked over his shoulder sporting an apologetic smile and then turned to fully face the medic. Ambulon was apprehensive but he flashed Pharma a smile in return. However that thin smirk turned into a fearful expression. Before he knew it Pharma was poised directly in front of him…that smile on the CMO's face all but a distant memory.

“I wasn’t thinking at all. I should never get too close to a ‘Con…former or otherwise.”

He stepped back from the orange mech and began to make his way to his patient for a quick scan, but before he reached his destination Pharma glanced over his shoulder at his still stunned subordinate.

“I believe I may have mentioned this before…watch your back. You never know who might be standing right behind you. Could be anyone here. It could even be your own kind. Keep that in mind.”

Ambulon stood there staring, mouth agape for nearly a breem just watching when he finally backed out of the medical bay. It was getting harder and harder for him to tolerate the CMO’s attitude toward him. But without him there to deter Pharma’s ever spiraling abuse the patients would be the ones at risk. No, he had to remain. Countdown could remove Pharma but the fallout would be worse if the Autobot flier were to stay in his position.

Unsure of just what to do or even where to go, Ambulon made the simple choice to walk. Walk until he either figured out how he could continue to handle things, or how to end them.

Swoop hadn’t said a word since they left berth 6. Unlike his Dinobot brothers, he didn’t find any amusement in verbally abusing and intimidating smaller mechs. On the other hand, he also knew better than to interrupt his brothers’ fun, so the bombardier just quietly followed along. It looked like he’d be spending his time in the bar after all. The Dinobot repressed a sigh. As a pilot, he’d rather be learning about their future ship than drinking high grade, especially when it was only a matter of time before their ruse was discovered. Not to mention the chance of a drunken Dinobot saying something that might blow their cover, or drawing too much attention by wrecking the bar, or--…. Okay, maybe he did need some high grade.

With Grimlock going to meet Countdown, there was now nothing left to do but try to relax. As he entered the bar he was not surprised in the least to see a bunch of Autobot crowded at the far side of the room. Less than an astrosecond and already they’d created a scene; it was amazing how conspicuous the Dinobots were. Swoop opted to stand and lean against the bar instead of taking a seat. Snarl ordered the first round of drinks and toasted to the Dinobots, which was followed by the banging and smashing of glasses. Swoop was much less boisterous as he simply raised his glass to Snarl’s toast then sipped at his drink. Being a flier, he metabolized energon faster than the average groundpounder, which meant it took less to get him overenergized; not to mention he was the smallest of the Dinobots. His plan was to nurse the high grade until it was time to go to the shipyard, staying as sober as possible at the bar. At least the brew was good, he thought to himself. Much better than the swill they’d been drinking since they awoke anyway. He drank slowly to savor the flavor, because Primus knew when they’d get to taste real energon again.

Suddenly another round of high grade was put in front of him by trembling hands. Obviously someone had ordered another round. Swoop leaned back to look around the other Dinobots and spotted some poor fool who thought himself brave enough to approach them. As the bombardier took another sip he listened to the Autobot say something about their return and helping the war effort, something about stories, then the Autobot asked a… peculiar question

“Are there any girl Dinobots?”

Swoop lurched as some energon went down the wrong intake. The Dinobot coughed and set his drink down as his vents tried to clear out the foreign liquid. The coughing went on for a few more seconds before settling down. Once finished, Swoop turned around and gave the Autobot the most perplexed and confused look he could manage. It was a look that said, “Are you stupid?” and, ”Why would you do that?” all in one. The Dinobot flier turned back around to grab his drink and took a sizable gulp. Primus, he hoped that not all of the Autobots on this station were this stupid.

Energon Bar

As the bartender provided Snarl with another full glass of high grade, the Desert Warrior noticed the arrival of Side Burn, who seemed more than just a little chatty with him. The blue mech rambled on a bit before offering to pay for a round of drinks for Snarl and his Dinobot companions. “Thanks, but we don’t need charity. We Dinobots make our own! Ha ha!” The solar powered ‘Bot then caught the vanguard’s last question regarding Dinobot femmes. “What?! You got screw loose, little one? No! No Dino-femmes here. Go look some place else for piece of aft.”

It was then that Slag approached and placed a firm hand on Side Burn’s shoulder plating, demanding that he vacate the chair he was occupying at once. Snarl chuckled under his breath as he accepted his third drink, the one that had been previously paid for by the blue mech who was about to get pulverized by the Dinobot flamethrower. Taking a sip of his high grade, the Desert Warrior leaned over to his opposite side where the Jungle Warrior was still trying to get the hang of sitting down on small bar stools.

“Hey, Sludge, me bet you round of drinks Slag here incinerates ol’ blue ‘Bot next to me before cycle over. What you think? Heh.”

Main Shipyard - Control Room

Erector leaned back in his chair and listened as Stockade continued to plea with him to do something more about the problem that was Grindcore. The weapons engineer made a lot of sense in the words that he spoke. The foremech had known the heavy lifter for so long that perhaps he was too close to his old friend. Maybe the minibot had given ‘Core one too many chances or even been too lenient with him. Yes, the Wrecker reject was an excellent worker but he was also a friend and sometimes friends allowed each other more slack than what would normally be given in a similar situation with another mech. When the brig idea was offered, Erector shrugged a bit, not really convinced that isolation would do the trick.

“I don’t know, Stockade,” the yellow and grey mech replied, crossing his arms over his tiny chestplate. “Grindcore’s been in the brig once or twice before and not much has changed I'm afraid. As for now, well, Kick-Off would have to determine whether or not Grindcore’s current actions warranted any length of stay in the brig. Drinking too much and being late for a shift are not really grounds for being taken away in stasis cuffs. I’m hoping that by putting him on maintenance duty he’ll have plenty of time to think about why he’s not doing real construction work like he should be. In many ways, the punishment I’ve given him is far worse than just sitting idly in the brig twiddling his actuators.”

Erector paused for a moment, looking to the view screen again where Grindcore was busy polishing the Trion. “I can assure you that his safety and all those under my command are a top priority for me. I’m doing what I can to help Grindcore, but it’s going to take time. Often I wish Rung was stationed here. If anyone could help ‘Core with his issues it would be him. Unfortunately, all we have here is Highcall, but he’s just a little too radical for anyone to take him seriously.” The minibot returned his gaze to Stockade again, his mood somber. “For now I’ll continue to deal with Grindcore, myself. If he gets violent or I see him endangering anyone in any way then he’ll be in the brig so fast his cranial unit will spin around on it’s servos. Until then I’ll keep a close optic on him as I’ve always done.”

Main Shipyard - The Trion's Hull

With an auto-buffer in hand, Grindcore stood on a hover sled and slowly polished the outer hull of the Trion about half way up the side of the new Autobot vessel. It was a demeaning task that wasted his true talents more than just a little bit. What was Erector thinking assigning a mech of the heavy lifter’s caliber to a chore that was meant for mere drones? Sure, ‘Core was late for work and a little hungover but no more than usual and he had always done fine in the past. What was so different this time?

Grindcore let out an audible grumble as he shifted the hand buffer to a new, higher area of the warship’s hull. I bet it was that fragger, Stockade, who I ran into back in the corridor on my way here, the construction worker thought as even more anger crept into his visage. That little slagger probably commed Erector just before I arrived and that’s how he was ready for me. Stockade better watch himself from now on. I don’t take kindly to snitches.

Grindcore then noticed a tiny buffer drone hovering nearby, performing the exact same task that the heavy lifter was doing. So, this is what I’m reduced to, a mere drone! Casting the tiny mechanism a forbidding glare, the hungover ‘Bot suddenly lashed out with one of his fists, knocking the drone away from him. “This is my spot! Find some place else to polish!” With a few beeps and clicks, the drone hurried away from the enraged mech. ‘Core then continued on with his menial and degrading work, all the while counting the astroseconds until his shift from hell was over.

Energon Bar

Side Burn almost laughed at the Dinobots reaction to his question. It ranged from amusement, to confusion to anger. He had asked the question only half seriously, as he was pretty sure there weren’t any Dino-femmes. Still, he wanted to make sure as he was far better at talking to the ladies. Of course a female Dinobot wasn’t likely to be a pretty little petite thing. On second thought he was pretty glad there wasn’t a female Dino.

The blue Autobot brought his hands up, a smile on his face as he spoke to Snarl. “Hey, I was just asking. Like I said, you guys are just about legends to some Bots. Please excuse my stupidity, I didn’t mean it as an insult or anything, just trying to separate the fact from the fiction. I’m just curious about you guys and what happened to you.”

Side Burn let out a grunt as a massive hand clamped down on his shoulder, bending his armor. It hurt, but he had felt worse. Still, between that and Slag’s words the message was pretty clear. The warrior hopped off the stool. “Hey, sure, didn’t mean to take your seat or anything. No reason to get bent out of shape, its all yours.”

Side Burn took a couple of steps back from the bar, allowing Slag plenty of room to take his spot there as he pondered his next move. He still wanted to hear whatever story was behind the Dinobots’ disappearance, but so far it looked like he had taken the wrong track with that. It was time to change things up a bit then. While he wasn’t scared of the Dinobots, he was used to charging straight at the enemy forces on his own so it took a lot to scare him, he didn’t exactly want to just stand there and take whatever punishment they might give him. Maybe it was time to put something in between them.

The Autobot looked over at the bartender. “Looks like you could use a hand with these bots.” With that he vaulted over the bar, landing on his feet next to the bartender. “I hope you don’t mind me giving you a little help, I figured you’d probably worry about something else then to deal with these guys.” The bartender looked at him for a moment before nodding vigorously and moving away.

Side Burn picked up a rag and began wiping down the bar and the mess Sludge had made on it. “So Dinobots, where have you been all this time? I’m sure lots of Autobots would love to know, and its gotta be a heck of a story, another one among many about you.”

*

Kick-Off was happy to have shut Skyfall up, at least for the moment. He was ready to get things moving when the Autobot grabbed his attention again, this time yelling about a wound on his head. The security chief frowned and took a hold of his head, examining the damage. “The wound looks mostly superficial and not life threatening.” He barely withheld a snicker at the last part. “I’d suggest going to the medical bay to get checked out and patched up. I’ll deal with things here.

The Autobot stifled a sigh as he turned back around and walked to the bar where the Dinobots sat. It looked like he was just going to have to deal with this head on, as much as he didn’t want to. Doing this just felt like daring a wild animal to bite you, but it was probably for the best in the long run. He would lay everything out for them and hope they listened. If they didn’t listen then it was all on them.

“Alright Dinobots listen up! My name is Kick-Off, head of security here on Cas Coller. Welcome to the station, feel free to enjoy the facilities, but make sure you obey the rules. No fighting, no unauthorized weapons discharge, no littering or destruction of property. Any property damage or destruction done will be fined directly to the perpetrator. The rest of the rules are common sense, feel free to look them up on any computer console in the station. If you break them you will be punished appropriately. I have already tabulated the property damage and destruction done so far and you will be fined appropriately. I suggest you take it easy, enjoy some drinks and if you have a need for violence you can use one of the many training rooms we have on board the station. Please, enjoy your stay here.”

*

Corridors outside the Energon Bar

Grimlock followed after Cosmos as he slowly made his way through the station with his almost comical waddling gait. The Dinobot barely contained a groan as the minibot launched into another conversation. He had been worried about how some of the others like Slag might act on the station, but now it was his patience that was beginning to wear thin. He remembered one of the reasons he had formed the Dinobots was to get away from the overly friendly and good natured Autobots. They never fit in with what he thought of as soldiers. At least here they had some use and could stay out of his way, at least most of the time they were out of his way.

The Dinobot commander grunted at Cosmos’s comments. “Maybe me should tell Dinobots about training rooms. It probably better that they tear those up then rest of station. Been too long since they fight, the definitely need to blow off some steam.”

Grimlock slid sideways into the turbolift, the doors being a tight squeeze for the bulky Autobot. Fortunately Cosmos was much smaller and the two of them fit comfortably inside. He glanced down at the other Autobot as he mentioned some event coming up. Grimlock suspected it would be the launch of the Trion, but he didn’t want to let on how much he knew. Best to play stupid and let everyone else underestimate him. It was a strategy he had used on more then one occasion and often found quite effective. “What event is that?”