The Energon Pub

Medical Bay

Ratchet exited his office once Axle left the facility and made his way over to Bumblebee and began to take his vitals. His patient never acknowledged him as he worked, and in turn, he said nothing so as not to agitate his current state.

The medical officer’s attention was taken away from Bumblebee when the door opened revealing Blurr helping an injured Mirage to a medical berth. Ratchet looked back down at Bumblebee and offered him a slight smile before he moved to Mirage’s side. He began to attend to the spy’s damaged leg when the door opened once more, this time revealing Axle and Hex.

Axle regarded his superior with a slight nod as he escorted Hex over to Bumblebee. Axle halted and had Hex wait for a moment.

“Bumblebee?”

The marred Autobot never even looked at the medic, instead he kept his gaze transfixed on the ceiling. A few minutes of silence went by before Bumblebee finally responded.

“Leave me alone. I told you, I don’t want any help.”

Axle let out a sigh before he addressed his patient again.

“I just want to introduce you to a friend of mine. His name is Hex. All he wants to do is talk to you.”

Axle gestured for Hex to step up next to Bumblebee’s berth. The young mech obliged taking immediate notice of the damage the Autobot had sustained. He turned his attention back to Bee’s face before he spoke.

“I, uh, just wanted to let you know that…I know how you feel.”

Bumblebee turned to look him in the optics before he spoke in an icy tone.

“How could you possibly know how I feel?”

Hex placed his hand on the back of his head as he tried to come up with the right thing to say. In the end he decided to just come clean with his past.

“Because it happened to me.”

Hex let out a heavy sigh before he began his story.

“I was captured on my very first mission along with three other Bots. We were immediately taken to the interrogation chamber. Over the next few months the interrogator tortured, experimented on and then brutally killed the three Bots I had been captured with. I was left for last because it was assumed I had no useful information.”

Hex paused a moment taking a seat in the chair next to the berth.

“I was able to escape by using parts from the dead mechs in my cell to make a crude sensor cloak. I made it out of the base and past the Cons’ security perimeter. When I was clear I sent out a distress signal. And that’s when I let my guard down. I had no clue I was being followed.”

Hex shook his head as he remembered the incident.

“A Con wrapped his arm around my neck and began to squeeze. I tried like hell to get him off, but it was no use. That’s when he shoved an energo dagger into my back and severed my spinal structure. When he let me go I just collapsed to the ground. I tried to get away even though my legs were useless, but he just dragged me back and turned me over. That’s when I finally saw that it was the interrogator who had found me.”

The young mech stood back up from his chair; he began to pace as he went on.

“He straddled me but I put up a fight. When I finally got in one good shot to his face he tore off my arm at the elbow. That was when he started to tear through my armor and innards, and when I didn’t die he decided to finish me off by digging his thumbs into my optics and cracking open my cranium.”

Hex let out a heavy sigh as he stopped his pacing and looked back down at Bumblebee.

“I lost consciousness after that. When I came too I was in a CR chamber. Once I got out I met Axle. He told me that he was the one who found me and that it had taken him nearly three years to put me back together.”

Bumblebee listened intently to Hex’s story. Both mechs remained silent for some time before Bumblebee finally spoke in a low tone.

“Wh…why didn’t you just give up?”

Hex looked the minibot in the optics as he gave him his answer.

“Because I didn’t want him to win.”

Bumblebee turned his attention back up to the ceiling and Hex looked back to Axle. The medic gave his young friend a slight smile and gestured for him to take his leave. Hex nodded and moved on, leaving Axle alone with Bumblebee. Silence filled the small space for several minutes.

“Axle? Let Ratchet know I’m ready.”

Command Center

The doors slid open as Prowl approached them. he walked into the Command Center where he found Optimus Prime, Brawn, Hardhead, and various Autobots present.

Brawn saw him come in. "Oh, hey Prowl. Lookin' good as new, I see. Any improvement with Bumblebee?" Brawn asked.

"Nothing yet. We'll hear something when Ratchet has something to tell us." the stategist responded.

He then turned his attention to Optimus Prime and spoke, "I've given the rescue team orders to report here for debriefing after they're finished repairing. Afterwards, I recommend we take some form of action to keep the Decepticons on their toes."

Strategically, Prowl knew that the best option for them was to put the Decepticons on the defensive with a followup action to disrupt any momentum they have. However, the final decisionw as Prime's.

"Hey, if it's a fight, I'm in." Brawn said in an enthusiastic tone.

Of course it didn't necessarily have to be a fight, as far as Prowl was concerned.

Corridors - Outside Medical Bay

Shotblur stood there against the wall, silent and motionless. In this state he seemed much a loner, despite his friendliness just a few moments ago. At least to him, he seemed to appear cold and distant, so he quickly sought to remedy this appearance. Pushing away from the wall, Shotblur scanned the areas with his optics, deciding what direction to go and what method to take. I can at least get more familiar with Prime, he thought. Let alone the others...

Noting that most had headed to either the Medical Bay or the Command Center, Shotblur headed to the latter in a mildly curious manner. Vorns had not transformed this mech out of this kind of infantile behavior. After all, as a Recon bot, Shotblur was constantly seeking out new things. Stepping inside, he peeked around the room.

Command Center

Optimus Prime had taken his time to get back to the central hub of the Ark 19. He needed the alone time to clear his thoughts and to relinquish the anger that had been welling deep within at the sight of his good friend. In the time he has been with the Autobot faction he has never seen what was done to Bumblebee before. The Decepticons are capable of vicious acts, but this….this was just incomprehensible.

The Autobot Commander entered the Command Center and made his way to the terminal he had been monitoring before. Once he was settled in he heard the door slide open. When he recognized Prowl’s voice he turned in his chair to look at his second.

“Thank you, Prowl. Unfortunately any action against the Decepticons now would be futile. They would be ready for a strike. In time we’ll make a move, but this is not it.”

Prime then turned his attention to Hardhead and gave him a nod.

"Make it so, Hardhead."

Prime turned back in his chair and returned to work.

Medical Bay

Hex made his way towards the door but stopped to give Mirage an icy stare. He then shook his head and left the Med Bay for his hidden lab.

****

After Bumblebee agreed to being treated Axle quickly left to speak to Ratchet. Since the Medical Officer was busy with Mirage, Axle was going to have to perform the procedures necessary to help Bumblebee.

Axle stood next to his patient and offered him a smile.

“Ratchet has his hands full with another patient, so I’m going to get started without him.”

He picked up a few instruments and spoke once more.

“I’m going to have a closer look at the organic applications to see if there will be an easy way to remove them. It’s not going to hurt at all.”

Bumblebee nodded and Axle went right to his examination. The work was intricate and very precise. The medic magnified his optics in order to see the details of the connections and right away, he didn’t like what he saw. He carefully put down his tools and readjusted his vision.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Axle moved away from Bumblebee and made his way over to Ratchet’s office where he motioned for the Medical Officer over. Ratchet excused himself and the two Autobots disappeared into the smaller room.

“What is it, Axle?”

“I can’t remove the organic materials.” Axle said.

Ratchet placed a hand on the back of his head as he let out a sigh. “What’s the problem?”

Axle paused a moment before he answered his superior. “The connections that were made between the organic nerve endings and Bumblebee’s own synaptic system. If I even attempt to sever the link it would cause excruciating pain. The over load to his systems will definitely kill him.”

Axle shook his head. “The removal would be the final torture.”

Ratchet nodded and took a seat. “What do you recommend? And don’t pussyfoot around it, Axle.”

The field medic placed both hands on Ratchet’s desk as he answered.

“I recommend removing his spark and building him a new body. It’s the only option we have.”

Ratchet glared back at his subordinate; the suggestion was ludicrous, but he trusted Axle’s opinion, and if this course of action was the only way to help Bumblebee then he would allow it.

“Alright Axle. Just be careful.”

Axle nodded in response and made his way back to the minibot’s side. Ratchet went back to work on Mirage as axle told Bumblebee what he had to do. Reluctantly Bumblebee agreed and tried to relax.

“Alright. I’m going to put you into stasis lock, you won’t feel a thing, and before you know it, you’ll be in a brand new body.”

Axle placed a hand on his shoulder. “Ready?”

Bumblebee took a deep breath and nodded. “I suppose so, doc.”

Axle gave him a smile as he put him into stasis. Once he was out Axle went right to work at removing his spark form its chamber. He carefully placed it in a storage cylinder and placed it on a nearby table. Now that Bumblebee was safely removed from his body; Axle could begin removing some of his parts that could be reused in his new body.

The field medic had finished removing the fuel pump and was just about to work on the laser core when he stopped. He moved his hands form the laser core to something he hadn’t noticed before. He tried to get a close look at it but was unsuccessful. He decided to just pull it out. He moved him hand over to the devise and took a hold of it……

Command Center

Shotblur made the motion to speak, but hesitated. Once Prime sat down, it was the final verdict. He remained silent except for a quiet synthetic sigh of frustration, which quickly faded into the background noise of the Command Center. Instead of an introduction, Shotblur pulled up against the nearest wall and ran his optics over the room.

Excusable. After all, he is a busy mech... Come on, get some patience, he thought to himself.

Command Center

Hardhead nodded to Prime and then turned back to face the console in front of him. He accessed the system logs and found that a diagnostic hadn’t been run on either the firewalls or the outer base defenses in over a deca-cycle. The Autobots had been very busy in recent weeks so it was understandable that one had not been executed before now.

It’s long overdue, Hardhead thought to himself as he initiated two diagnostic programs simultaneously to both check and reinforce the strength and accuracy of the Ark-19’s overall computer and weapons systems. The first was focused on the firewalls, testing them for any weaknesses and automatically installing any updates necessary to ensure the stability of the mainframe and all of the important information contained therein.

The second diagnostic’s job was to verify that the ship’s weapons were all functioning properly along with the sensor grid that had been laid out around the edge of the lake and on some of the islands. If a problem was detected, the program would identify it and hopefully be able to correct it remotely. If not, a mech would have to make the necessary repairs to the hardware directly or find another way to get around the issue.

Unfortunately, while Hardhead knew enough to run simple diagnostic programs, he wasn’t particularly knowledgeable when it came to technological matters. He was a battlefield expert and not a repair-bot. So if something needed to be fixed, another mech would either have to do it themselves or at least help him out. Hopefully, everything will check out okay, Hardhead thought as he sat back in his chair and waited for the programs to finish running.

Medical Bay

Smokescreen stirred in his CR chamber as the door then slid open with a hiss. His repair cycle was done and Smokey stepped out into the med bay looking and feeling as good as new. However, the same could not be said for poor Bumblebee, whose limp form still lay on a nearby berth with Axle working diligently on him. Smokey had hoped that the minibot’s condition would have improved by now, but that did not appear to be the case. In fact, ‘Bee looked worse now than before.

Smokescreen shook his head and sighed. He had faith in the medic and knew that Bumblebee was in good hands, but Smokey couldn’t help but wonder if the minibot would ever be the same again. “Stay strong, ‘Bee,” the diversion expert whispered before heading for the door. Smokey then entered the corridor and made his way up to the command center for Prowl’s mission debriefing.

OOC: dialogue misspellings with Ironhide are intentional. I've always preferred the hillbilly sounding Ironhide of the G1 cartoons

Med Bay


With the whine of hydraulics and a hiss of escaping gas, the heavy door of yet another CR chamber in the med bay slid aside revealing the often battered, but now functional form of Ironhide. "Ah cain't believe ah let that filly get the better of me like that," he grumbled as he clambered awkwardly from the repair unit.

"Did ever'one else make it out okay?" he queried loudly, expecting Rachet to be within earshot since the other 'bot hardly ever managed to get away from the repair bay, especially in the aftermath of a battle. However, instead of seeing his old friend's familiar white form, he noticed Axle hard at work on Bumblebee's inert form.

"Ahhh no, little buddy!" Ironhide cried rushing across the bay to Bumblebee's bedside. "He's not dead is he Axle?" the old mech demanded.

Command Center

Prowl said nothing as Prime denied a possible followup attack. Deep down his intuition told him that Prime wanted it just as much as the rest of them. Perhaps now was indeed not the time as Prime said.

"Understood." Prowl said as his response.

He spotted Hardhead at a terminal, doing a diagnostic of their security systems. He smiled seeing this as it would help give him a more accurate report of where fixed needed to be made and where they could make improvements where necesary.

"Glad to see I wasn't the only one thinking of this." Prowl told Hardhead. "I'll help you out. I can handle the more technical portions."

He sat down and began performing diagnostics of their weaponry, sensor gird, and Orbital Bounce Platform. Of course he would pause things once the rescue team had arrived for breifing.

Brawn cast a face of dissappointment and Prowls recommendation was denied. He wanted to bust some Decepticon shell.

He saw everyone else at work, and technology was not his forte.

"I'll be in the training room, if ya need me." Brawn said as he made his way out of the Command Center and into the corridor.

Medical Bay

Before Axle could remove the unusual device Ironhide rushed over causing the medic to turn his attention to the unnerved old mech. Axle regarded Ironhide and then turned his full attention back to Bumblebee’s body.

“No, he’s fine. I removed his spark and stored it in the cylinder on the table over there.”

Axle took a hold of the device and began to pull on it when he suddenly heard a high pitched noise. His optics widened when he finally realized what the device was. He released the device from his right hand and quickly shoved Ironhide in the chest with his left. The explosive device detonated tearing off the medic’s arm and a portion of his chest plating and leaving Bumblebee’s body completely obliterated.

Ratchet had just finished removing Mirage’s lower leg when the bomb went off at the opposite end of the Med Bay. Instinctively Ratchet shielded Mirage from any debris, and when everything finally began to settle the medical officer rushed over to Axle’s fallen form. He made sure the field medic was still functional and quickly began to slow his fluid loss. As he worked he looked over to Ironhide; he wasn’t sure if the old timer had sustained any serious injuries and the only way he’d find out was to ask.

“Ironhide! Are you alright? Did Axle tell you where he put Bumblebee?”

While he waited for Ironhide to respond he opened a channel to the Command Center.

>>“This is Ratchet, there’s been an explosion in the Med Bay! I need you to send someone to reinforce the hull!”<<

Ironhide didn't even have a moment of relief upon hearing that Bumblebee was still in the land of the living before Axle pulled an explosive from the little yellow mech's remains. "Aww frag," he murmured as Axle shoved him away, then the force of the blast lifted him from his feet and slammed him back into the door of the CR chamber he had just exited, crushing it like an empty can.

The old mech was momentarily stunned, but Axle had taken the brunt of the blast, and Ironhide was made to take a beating. He staggered clear of the wreckage, back to his feet, and heard Rachet calling his name.

"Ah'm alright Rachet... takes more than that to put me on mah back," he replied. "Durn fool tried to cover the blast with his body," he added, nodding to Axle. "Course if he hadn't we'd prolly be swimmin' by now."

Just then the bulkhead groaned alarmingly.

"By the sound of things we might be doin' that anyways. Bumblebee's spark was in a container over on the other side of the desk over there. You better grab it and get the others out of here. Ah can patch any leaks with mah watergun here, but I don't figure this is the safest place to be right about now."

Corridors

Smokescreen had only made it a short distance away from the medical facility when he both heard and felt the explosion. What the slag was that? Smokey thought as he steadied himself and immediately turned around, heading back down the hallway.

Med Bay

The diversion expert rushed back into the room and looked around to see utter chaos in the wake of the blast. “Is everybody okay?” Smokescreen shouted as he made his way towards the back of the facility where Bumblebee had been laying on a berth just moments before. The minibot’s body was now gone and Axle lay on the floor with his arm torn off and Ratchet trying to stop the flow of fluids. Ironhide was also close to where the blast had occurred, but he appeared to be alright.

As a shocked Smokescreen reached the rear of the med bay, he heard the same groan from the bulkhead that Ironhide had just referred to. The diversion expert quickly scanned the wall for weaknesses and found that several cracks were already beginning to form. “You’re right, Ironhide. The hull is already showing signs of cracking. That bulkhead could give way any astrosecond. I'll help the others get out of here while you try and patch things up.”

Smokescreen remembered about Hound, who was still resting in a nearby CR chamber. The red and blue mech hurried to the chamber’s controls and stopped the repair process in mid-cycle. Smokey then opened the door and looked in at the Autobot scout. “Hound! Sorry I had to cut your repair cycle short, but there’s been an explosion and the outer hull’s been weakened. It’s not safe to remain in here.”

Smokescreen grabbed a hold of Hound's arm in an effort to help him out of the CR chamber. "Come on, buddy. I've got to get you out of harm's way."

Command Center

Prime perked up when he noticed a signal coming from the Med Bay. He quickly opened the link and was surprised by what he heard. Ratchet’s voice was agitated as he announced that there had been an explosion in the facility. Prime quickly stood from his seat and looked over to Prowl, Hardhead and Shotblur.

“We need to get to the Med Bay. There’s been some kind of explosion. Once we’re there, Hardhead, I want you to try and reinforce the bulkhead. Prowl, Shotblur, you two are going to help get the wounded out. Let’s go!”

Prime made his way out of the Command Center and down the corridor towards the Med Bay.

****

Med Bay

Ratchet worked as fast as he could to stop the flow of fluids leaking from Axle’s wounds. He glanced over to the desk where Bumblebee’s spark was located. He was relieved when he spotted the canister undamaged.

“I can’t get to him just yet. Do what you can with the bulkhead and then get Mirage and Blurr out of here.”

Prime entered the Med Bay and took notice of the damage. Luckily the only serious detriment was isolated to the rear of the facility. The Autobot Commander made his way to Ratchet who was busy working on Axle.

“What happened?”

Without looking up Ratchet responded.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think the Cons planted an explosive device inside Bumblebee’s body. Thankfully Axle had already removed Bumblebee’s spark before…..anyway, I’m almost done with Axle. Grab Bumblebee and the others.”

Prime nodded in response and grabbed a hold of the canister. He looked back to Ironhide and then the bulkhead.

“Hardhead, Prowl and Shotblur are on their way.”

Med Bay

Mirage lay patiently in his med bay berth. Hopefully someone could be spared to work on him before too much longer. Bumblebee was obviously top priority and he didn’t exactly mind the time just lying around. Now if he had a nice glass of energon then he really wouldn’t mind just laying around. Unfortunately it wasn’t like the old days when he had kept a collection of vintage energon carefully sealed up for special occasions. Now you just drank down whatever substitutes that could be found. He missed those old days a lot.

The spy turned his attention towards Hex as he began talking to Bumblebee about his own ordeal with the Decepticon interrogator. The story helped connect a few of the dots in what little he knew about the other Autobot. It certainly explained his eagerness to find out about this Decepticon. The desire for vengeance was a powerful thing. He could only hope that he could contain himself from doing anything too stupid. This Decepticon was powerful and obviously had some shorted out cerebral circuits if what he did to Bumblebee was any indication. Rushing in to fight him would be a deadly mistake.

He saw Hex give him a glare and simply shrugged in reply. What more did the other Autobot want from him. It sounded like he already knew everything he knew about this con and more.

His attention was drawn back to his leg as Ratchet proceeded to remove the ruined portion of it. Mirage had assumed it would be a total loss. Hopefully they had some vaguely compatible replacement.

The Autobot’s thoughts were interrupted by a sudden explosion from across the room. Ratchet threw himself over him to protect him from debris. Once the medic was off of him Mirage swung around and out of the berth, carefully balancing on one foot. Bumblebee was completely destroyed, but he had seen the medic remove his spark so he might still be alive. Axle was intact but obviously in bad shape as Ratchet tended to him.

Mirage let out a frustrated sigh. If he had been fully operational he could have done something, he wasn’t sure what but anything was better then just standing there. He overheard Ratchet and Prime talk about evacuating the room. Mirage began to work his way towards the door, grabbing various tables and consoles to help support himself as he hopped around the room on his one functional leg.

Medical Bay

Ironhide nodded at Prime's words as he extended his so-called watergun from its' socket in his left arm.

"Ah dunno how much good they'll do in here Prime, unless one of them wants to help out the one-legged spy over there," he said, indicating Mirage with a jerk of his head and a quick grin. "What we really need is someone to go EVA and check over the hull. Ah can seal the leaks here." he added, and matched words to deed by spraying a molecular bonding epoxy into the first of the cracks that had formed in the internal bulkhead, then moving rapidly on to the next.

"Ah'm no engineer, but fer a quick jury rigged fix like this, ah can handle things."

Command Center

Hardhead immediately sat up in his chair as Prime received the message from Med Bay and then gave out orders to the others present in the command center. "You got it, Optimus!" The war veteran responded as he stood up and headed for the door.

Med Bay

Headhead entered the medical facility shortly after Prime had arrived. He saw the bedlam that had engulfed the room. There were injured mechs in need of assistance everywhere, but Hardhead had his orders to help secure the bulkhead at the far side of the room and that's exactly what he was going to do. Prowl and Shotblur could handled the wounded.

The veteran made his way over to where Ironhide was already filling in the cracks with his epoxy bonding agent. As Hardhead stood by his red comrade, a loud creaking sound permeated through the restraining wall in front of him. A new crack then began opening up and seemed to be larger than the rest. "Hmmmm...I think we'll need more than a sticky glue for this."

Hardhead than looked around the room for something he could use as a makeshift patch. He quickly found what he needed in the form of an empty medical berth. The large green mech grasp a hold of the table with both hands and yanked it up, tearing it off it's post. Hardhead then carried the berth over to the bulkhead and pressed it up against the wall, covering the newly formed crack. "Hey, Ironhide! Spray some of that stuff around the edges of this med table. We need to seal it securely before the bulkhead gives way!"

Command Center

Prowls attention was diverted by the vibrating of a ship, accompanied by a rumbling sound.

"That felt like it was comming from the midsection." he commented.

Only moments later did an emergency comm from Ratchet. There was an explosion. To Prowl, it wouldn't take the simplest Cybertronian computer to guess it was sabotage. The timing was too subtle to be a cooincidence. Prime had responded and ordered him, Hardhead, and Shotblur to assist.

"I'll be right there Optimus." Prowl said as the others rushed out. Prowl knew time was short, and they needed some muscle. He hit the comm.

"Brawn! Report to the medbay immediately. There's been an explosion. We could use an extra hand" he said, signaling the Auotbot.

Prowl switched off the console and exited the Command Center. He transformed into car mode to save some time and drove in the direction of the Medbay with sirens blaring. He caught up just as Prime and the others arrived. Upon tranforming back into robot mode, he received Prime's order to help evacuate the wounded. Prowl nodded and went over to the closest patient he could find, Mirage.

"Let's get you out of here Mirage!" Prowl said as he put the spies harm over his shoulder to help escort him to safety.

Corridors

Brawn walked towards the holodeck when he received Prowl's comm. He wondered what that sound was and he had a good feeling ol'Megatron was sending them his regards.

Prowl wanted his help in doing repairs. Of course, Brawn was not very savy with tools, this was known throughout the Autobots. But he figured Prowl meant something else, supplies. He could get some panels to help seal any leaks and some of those pannels were ehavy for some Autobots.

He needed to know what the repair team needed, so he opened a commline to Optimus.

>>"Prime, this is Brawn. Prowl told me what happened. What do we need for repairs, and how many?" he asked as he began running down the corridor towards the storage room

Medbay

Hound is rudely shaken awake by a rumbling that causes his forehead to bounce off the front of the CR chamber. Hurt and confused, it takes the scout a few vital astroseconds to get his bearings and untangle himself from the CR equipment. Thankfully, Smokescreen opened the door for him and helped him out of the chamber.

"Ugh, what happened? Are we under attack? Di...Did they follow us back?" Hound looked around the chaos of the Medbay, unable to take it all in at once. "If the 'Cons are here, I'm well enough to fight! Otherwise, Ratchet, Ironhide, tell me what me and Smokes can do! Is it safe to move the wounded? Wh-wheres Bumblebee?"

Med-Bay

As he worked, Ironhide quickly reviewed the situation. Prime had gotten Bumblebee's spark, Prowl was helping Mirage, Smokescreen had Hound out of his CR chamber, and he and Hardhead were handling the bulkhead leaks on this side. Things were pretty much under control, however Ratchet was still on the floor working on Axle.

"Durn it Ratchet, get a move on!" the old campaigner irritably commanded as he applied a generous line of sealant to the perimeter of the table Hardhead was holding in place against the bulkhead. "Ah ain't gonna be comfortable 'til you get that boy clear of this mess. Ah don't think the wall's gonna fail, but ah've been wrong before."

Prime had made his orders, and his soldiers were carrying them out, but like many a good sergeant, Ironhide felt the need to clarify them for the troops, and Hound's query gave him the perfect opportunity.

"There's two sides to this here bulkhead Hound. You an' Smokey grab that Shotblur kid and a few torches and get outside. Ah figure a scout and a recon expert oughta be able to find any cracks in the hull, and Smokescreen can handle the weldin'."

Med Bay

Smokescreen tried to calm the confused Hound as he helped the scout out of his CR chamber. "Whoa, easy there, Hound. The 'cons didn't follow us back. It seems they planted an explosive device in Bumblebee's body. Thankfully, Axle was able to remove his spark and safely store it before the explosion went off. But now the bulkhead over there has been compromised, which is why Hardhead and Ironhide are trying to reinforce it now."

Smokescreen then listened as Ironhide recommended to them that they check the outside of the hull for any additional cracks or breaches. The diversion expert nodded to the old red 'bot and looked back at Hound. "Let's go, buddy. Time for a little swim." Smokey then headed for the door and opened a comm line to Shotblur:

>>"Shotblur, this is Smokescreen. Where are you? Meet Hound and myself at the air lock. We need to go outside and check the ship's hull for damage."<<

Corridors

The diversionary tactician then exited the med bay and hurried through the hallways towards the air lock. He wasn't looking forward to going for a swim in the great lake that surrounded the Ark-19, as the salty water would begin to corrode his circuits after a while of exposure. However, it was a necessary task given the situation at hand. It was either this or risk a flood in the med bay.

After grabbing some blow torches from a storage room, Smokescreen quickly arrived at the air lock where he waited for Hound and Shotblur to catch up.

Command Center

>>"No can do, respectfully...Prime's orders first. I need to head to the med bay. Sorry, Smokescreen."<<

Shotblur stumbled over himself amidst the panic. It took him a little while to figure out what was going on. Eventually the recon mech pieced everything together, and transformed. In his alt mode, he rushed to the medical bay and returned to robot mode, skidding a bit on the ground.

Scrambling inside, Shotblur surveyed the scene.

Medical Bay

"Prime sent me," he said, before pausing. He took a closer look at the medical bay around him. "...so this is where the explosion was."

Medical Bay

Hound blinked as Smokescreen explained the situation, his optics unconsciously drawn to the Spark Chamber on the workbench. You didn't need to be a medical expert to know that very complex and delicate work was needed to finish that kind of job, and explosions and flooding weren't conducive to such a task.

He turns to Ironhide as the older Autobot outlines how to solve the situation. Hound nods grimly and sets off, adamant that there'll be no last-minute tragedies on his watch.

Corridors

Hound follows on Smokescreens heels, mentally going through all the issues with what they're about to do. "Darn it, wish Seaspray were here. None of us are really skilled at underwater work..." He looks over the equipment that Smokes is retrieving, and grabs a set for himself. "Are these torches rated for underwater work? Argh, who'da thought the lake would ever turn out to be a problem for us mighty machines?...." Hound pauses and listens in on Shotblurs communication.

"Smokes, if hes not coming, lets not stick around! We head out, now!"

Corridors - At the Airlock

Smokescreen nodded to Hound in response to his question. "Yes, these torches should work fine underwater. It's us I'm more concerned about." Smokey then received Shotblur's response and opened a comm line back to him:

>>"Okay. Suit yourself. If you change your mind, feel free to join us."<<

The diversion expert then turned to Hound. "Looks like it's just the two of us. We can handle it ourselves." Smokescreen opened the door to the airlock and stepped inside. Once the two mechs were in position, Smokey closed the door again, effectively sealing it shut. A clear shield slid down over his face to allow him to communicate with Hound once they were submerged. Smokey then activated the outer hatch, which promptly opened, filling the small room up with water. "Okay, let's head on out."

Outside the Ark-19

Smokescreen swam up and out of the hatch and made his way along the length of the ship towards the approximate location of the medical bay. His scanners were fixated across the surface of the hull, looking for any signs of a potential breach. The red and blue mech soon found what he had anticipated he would find.

Smokescreen looked back at Hound and pointed down towards the hull. "We've got several cracks beginning to form here and a few more over there. I'll start welding these ones closed while you work on those. Once that's done, we'll do another sweep over the hull just to be safe. Let's get to work." The diversion expert turned and braced himself against the hull with one hand while activating his torch with the other. Smokey then brought the intense flame into contact with the first crack and began sealing it shut.

Med Bay

As soon as Shotblur arrived Prime addressed him.

“Shotblur, I want you to get Blurr out of his CR chamber and get out of here.” The Autobot Commander shot Ratchet a glare as the medic worked on Axle. Time was running short and he wanted to get everyone out of the facility before the hull was breached.

“How much longer Ratchet?”

The Autobot medical officer finally looked up and nodded. He quickly got to his feet and looked back at the exterior wall Ironhide and Hardhead were trying to reinforce.

“He’s stable, for now. It’s safe to move him.”

Ratchet then addressed Prowl along with Prime. “Get the wounded to Wheeljack’s lab, he has a CR chamber there and enough equipment that I can finish repairing Mirage.”

Prime nodded and quickly handed Ratchet the canister containing Bumblebee’s spark. Axle was a big mech, too heavy for Ratchet to carry. Optimus picked up the field medic and made his way to Wheeljack’s lab, on the way he received Brawn’s communique. Prime opened his own line to the Bot.

>>“Get a hold of some wall panels. If you can’t locate any in the storage room pull them off the interior walls. Get as many as you can and get to the med bay. Once you’re there help Ironhide and Hardhead reinforce the bulkhead. Prime out.”<<

Wheeljack’s Lab

Prime entered the cluttered laboratory and made his way to a nearby table. He swept it clean with his arm and carefully laid Axle down. Ratchet followed in behind Optimus Prime and moved to a stasis locker where he placed Bumblebee’s spark until he could get Axle back to functioning condition.

The medic moved about the room picking through the available parts; he finally located a suitable leg module to finish Mirage’s repairs. Now all needed was his patient. Ratchet placed the leg on another cleared off table and waited for Prowl to arrive with Mirage.

Outside the Ark-19

Resisting the urge to scratch at the unfamiliar faceplate cover, Hound followed the Distraction Specialist out across the Arks hull. "I see the spots, Smokes, leave it to me!" Hound ignites his own torch and begins welding the cracks, musing on how unreal this whole situation is, like its just a CR Dream and he hasn't woken up yet.

Medbay

"Well Hardhead, ah think that's about as good as we can do fer now," Ironhide said, stepping back to survey their handiwork. The bulkhead looked like a pre-school art project with mismatched patches and large misshapen globs of adhesive, but it wasn't leaking... for the moment anyway.

"Ah wish we had some proper engineers on site. Ah'd give my fuel pump fer Grapple to come walking down the corridor right about now, but ah'm not even sure where he's assigned these days." The aged red Autobot sighed, then visibly shook off the melancholy that was creeping up on him. After the last few days, the loss at the oil platform, followed almost immediately by the bomb strike here, not to mention the overall state of the war, it would have been easy to get depressed, but Ironhide wasn't wired that way. He didn't get depressed, he got pissed.

A scowl crept across the old mech's face and he growled, "Ah think it's about time we got us some payback don't you Hardhead? The 'cons been hittin' us and runnin' rampant around here. It's about time we hit back."