The Energon Pub

Med Bay - Security Isolation Ward

The was a very short list of things that could break through Jazz's calm demeanor, and the Decepticon Warlord's latest response to Magnus' demand for answers was quickly added to that short list. Megatron's crazed outburst sent a shiver down the black and white Autobot's spinal strut.

"Maybe it's best we let him cool off for a while." The black and white Autobot suggested following Megatron's answer towards Magnus. "I mean you try answering some questions after you're morning reboot. In the meantime, I've got some files to continue reading through. I've only just finished getting through the nine prefixes!"

Jazz then took a few steps past the broad shoulder mass of residential city commander and back out into the med bay proper, only to be greeted by the sight of Ratchet, 'Bee, and the Prime-himself back up on his feet.

"Well twist my transistors! Look who's back and up already!" The sight of a smoke trail still steaming off the nearby wall drew the Intelligence officer's optical visor towards a prime-sized blast mark. "Whoa now, what'd I miss?"

Med Bay--Security Isolation Ward

"Who, Megatron?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"Who, Megatron?" Sentinel Prime asked again, pressing his weapon further against Megatron's cranial unit.

Within the security isolation ward of the Guardian, Megatron's optics flicked from one direction to another as if surrounded. His speech quickly devolved from coherent words into a series of mutterings and ramblings, few of which were intelligible on any level.

Hot Rod’s Mind

The darkness that had surrounded Hot Rod again did not last long as the cavalier soon found himself on top of a strange rock formation. The flame-covered Autobot looked around and quickly realized that he knew this place. He was once again standing at the summit of Ayers Rock back in the desert of Australia. The sun shown brightly above with the wind in his faceplate. This time, however, there was no battle raging. There was no combined Cybertronian army fighting to the death against a demigod. The battle was long over. They had won and the Fallen had been defeated.

“Are you sure, child?”

The voice came from behind Hot Rod, who immediately spun around to see the fiery form of the Fallen standing in the center of the mountain top. The demigod still looked like a mutated form of the cavalier, only even more so now. “You! This can’t be! You’re not real! You’re just in my head! We beat you! You’re nothing but a disembodied spark now!”

“Perhaps, but I can never be beaten, child. I will always be with you no matter how hard you try deny it,” the Fallen spoke as he slowly moved towards his former vessel. “You will never be rid of me, not completely. I have tainted your spark. The darkness is deep inside and one day it will quell the light within you. That light will be lost forever! Hahahahahahh!!!”


“No! NOOOO!!!” Hot Rod shouted as he charged at the Fallen with the intent to tackle him to the ground. Of course, that did not happen. Instead, the cavalier passed right through the demigod's shimmering form and ran right into a boulder on the other side.

“You see, you can’t beat me! I’m a part of you, Hot Rod! We are ONE!”

“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

Medical Bay

Hot Rod’s body convulsed erratically within his CR chamber as his repair cycle finally concluded and the nanite-rich fluid drained out through the bottom. His optics suddenly on-lined as he completed awoke from the nightmare that had previously consumed him. “Noooooooo!!!!” The cavalier shouted as he began to pound on the inside of the CR unit’s door. “You can’t have my spark! You can’t have it! I won’t let you!!!”

Astroseconds later, the chamber’s door slid open with a hiss and Hot Rod instantly leapt out and into the open med bay. Landing on all fours, the cavalier continued to shake for a moment before he slowly realized he was no longer on top of Ayers Rock and the image of the Fallen was gone. Instead of there being rock under him, a metallic floor stared up at his confused visage. Pushing himself up to his knees, Hot Rod cautiously looked around the room he now found himself in and saw that he was in a medical facility, likely on board some kind of ship. But was this just another dream or nightmare? Was this the ship he had dreamed about?

Hot Rod immediately noticed several Autobots that he recognized within the med bay, the closest of which was a familiar blue speedster who stood against a wall not far away. “Blurr?” The cavalier asked as he finally got to his feet. He looked down at himself to see that his body had been restored to its former state. There were some slight modifications to his design, but overall the mutations of the Fallen had been wiped away.

Bringing his attention back to the fast talking mech, Hot Rod quickly approached him. “Blurr, where am I? Is this a dream? Am I still dreaming?!” The flame-covered ‘bot asked, placing an unsteady hand on the blue speedster’s shoulder plate. “Is this all real? Please tell me it’s real.” Hot Rod looked a bit frantic as he had been consumed by nightmares and visions for what seemed like an eternity that he was no longer sure what was real and what wasn’t. Just when he thought he was awake it turned out he wasn’t. Was this situation any different?

Hot Rod’s optics then darted around the medical bay again, searching for a certain pink femmebot that he last remembered seeing down on Ayers Rock. “Wait, where’s Arcee?” The cavalier turned his attention back to Blurr again. “Where is she? I don’t see her. If I'm awake, she should be here. She’s all right, isn’t she? I can’t recall what exactly happened to her down there? Please tell me she’s okay, Blurr. Please!”

Medical Bay – Secluded Area

"Hm. Should probably letthem get some rest and move awayfrom here, youknow?” Blurr said, pushing off from the wall he was leaning against to move a bit unsteadily out into a more open and less crowded section of the medical bay. “Don’t wanna be in theway.”

Cliffjumper nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we better not disturb the recovering Bots over here."

As Blurr, Cliff, and the others started walking away, Hot Rod began shouting from his CR chamber.

"Noooooooo!!! You can’t have my spark! You can’t have it! I won’t let you!!!”

Cliffjumper and the others turned their heads around almost simultaneously. What the heck?

Hot Rod bolted out of the chamber and collapsed on the floor with a look of terror on his face.

"Buddy!" Cliffjumper shouted in a concerned tone as he ran over, "Dude! Are you alright!?" Cliffjumper helped Hot Rod to his feet when Rod ran over to Blurr in a fit of confusion.

“Blurr, where am I? Is this a dream? Am I still dreaming?!”

Cliffjumper in almost panic, called the nearest doctor. "Doc! We need help! Rod's not doing so well!"

Medical Bay

When Hot Rod came stumbling out of his CR chamber like a mech – still – possessed, it set Blurr on edge, reaching for his blaster. But after an astrosecond’s observation, he could see that there was no hostility in Hot Rod’s body language, something that become more evident as the cavalier called out to him. Blurr greeted Hot Rod with a warm smile.

“Blurr, where am I? Is this a dream? Am I still dreaming?!” The flame-covered ‘bot asked, placing an unsteady hand on the blue speedster’s shoulder plate. “Is this all real? Please tell me it’s real.”

“Easy, easy, Roddy,” Blurr said slowly, trying to calm the formerly possessed Autobot. “It’s real. Welcome back to the land of the living! Wasn’t sure we were gonna get you back.” Blurr placed a hand on Hot Rod’s shoulder. “Primus, it’s good to have you back to normal.” It was at this time that Roddy frantically glanced around the medical bay.

“Wait, where’s Arcee?” The cavalier turned his attention back to Blurr again. “Where is she? I don’t see her. If I'm awake, she should be here. She’s all right, isn’t she? I can’t recall what exactly happened to her down there? Please tell me she’s okay, Blurr. Please!”

“Easy, buddy! I’m sure she’s fine. I didn’t hear about us taking any serious casualties. I got out of a CR chamber myself not too long ago.” Blurr glanced around the medical bay. Still. It was kind of odd that Arcee wasn’t around given how she and Hot Rod seemed to…well. “I’m sure she’s somewhere aboard the ship. Shouldn’t be too hard to find.” Blurr gestured over to a terminal embedded in the wall of the medical bay.

“Could look for her there or call her up over the comms.”

"Doc! We need help! Rod's not doing so well!"

Blurr grimaced as Cliffjumper called out for a doctor. “No, I think he’s okay, Cliff. Just…You’re okay, right, Roddy?”

Medical Bay

Hot Rod listened to Blurr’s words and slowly began to calm down. This wasn’t all still a dream. It was real. Thank Primus, it was finally real. “Yeah, I wan’t sure I’d get back, either,” the cavalier said, letting out a deep sigh. “The dreams I had while in stasis. They were so real, so vivid. I’ve never experienced anything like them before.” Hot Rod then locked optics with the blue speedster. “Am I normal again? I hope so.”

The flame-covered mech then listened as Blurr tried to calm him down further in regards to Arcee’s whereabouts. He wasn’t sure what her condition was or where exactly she was currently located, but there had been no serious casualties to Blurr’s knowledge, so she had to be okay. “I’m surprised no one died down there, but also grateful. I don’t think I could live with myself if a fellow ‘bot had been killed by my hands.”

“But, sure, I guess I could comm her,” Hot Rod continued, referring once again to Arcee. Cliffjumper then called out for a medic before Blurr suggested that it wasn’t necessary and that the cavalier was okay. “Yeah, I’m okay, guys. Just a little frazzled that’s all.”

“You positive about that?” This new query and voice came from Wheeljack as the mad scientist approached the scene having heard the commotion and Cliffjumper’s call for a medic’s assistance. “You should really sit down, Roddy. You went through a lot down there. Your mind, body and spark all went through what I would consider a tremendous amount of stress,” the mechanical engineer said as he guided Hot Rod over to a nearby stool where the cavalier then took a seat.

“I’m not positive about anything at the moment, Wheeljack,” Hot Rod replied, taking a deep intake of air. “As I just mentioned to Blurr and Cliff, the dreams I had in stasis were so real that when I did finally wake up I couldn’t tell reality from fantasy. Is that normal for what I’ve been through?”

“Well, considering no one’s ever been possessed by a demigod before, I’m not really sure what would be normal for this situation,” Wheeljack responded, kneeling down in front of his seated patient and pulling out a medical scanner. “Just hold still for me, Roddy. This will only take a moment.” The engineer passed the handheld device across Hot Rod’s body from top to bottom. The final readings came back only astroseconds later, putting a slight smile on the scientist’s visage. “Everything came back in the green. Physically, you’re as good as new. Even your spark appears strong. Your mental state, I’m afraid, is something this scanner won’t tell me about. I would suggest taking it easy for a while, Roddy. Ease back into things slowly. Don’t overexert yourself.”

The cavalier said nothing, only nodding his head in compliance before his optics settled onto the floor. The flame-covered mech wasn’t sure if he believed that his spark was really okay. It didn’t feel okay. It felt darker, tainted by the Fallen. Hot Rod didn’t want to admit that out loud for fear of scaring everyone, but that belief was still in the back of his processor, creating doubt that he was truly back to normal.

Wheeljack stood back to his full height, keeping his gaze fixated on Hot Rod. “In the meantime, let’s see if we can find that pink femme of yours.” The engineer then opened a comm line over a wide frequency to ensure that the recipient would hear the message:

>>”Arcee, this is Wheeljack down in the primary med bay on board the Guardian. I just wanted to let you know that Hot Rod’s awake and asking for you. You can come and see him whenever you are able.”<<

Cutting the transmission, Wheeljack returned his attention to those present. “That should do it, Roddy. If she’s on one of the ships or even down at the Autobot City construction site, she’ll get the message. It’s just a matter of time before she arrives.”

“Thanks, ‘Jack,” Hot Rod responded, lifting his head up and letting out another sigh.

“No problem. And you two,” Wheeljack said, now looking at Blurr and Cliffjumper. “Keep an optic on him until Arcee gets here. He shouldn’t be alone right now. Got it?”

Medical Bay

“Yeah, I’m okay, guys. Just a little frazzled that’s all.”

Blurr smiled with relief. That is until a new voice questioned the cavalier’s assertion. Blurr stood a bit straighter as Wheeljack walked over. He made the point that Hot Rod had been through a lot – and sure enough, he had. Blurr could scarcely imagine being possessed. As Hot Rod took a seat on a nearby stool, Blurr shuffled over to accompany him, leaning heavily on the wall. He still felt a bit light-headed himself.

The blue speedster was content to let Wheeljack give Hot Rod the once over. While he wasn’t Ratchet, he was certainly an accomplished scientist in his own right. The results were reassuring. As least physically, Roddy was alright. Now all that remained to be seen was his mental state, but Blurr was sure that the cavalier would be back to his old self in no time. Hopefully.

Blurr shuffled over and rested a reassuring hand on Hot Rod’s shoulder. Wheeljack called up Arcee for Roddy then turned his attention toward himself and Cliffjumper.

“Keep an optic on him until Arcee gets here. He shouldn’t be alone right now. Got it?”

“Sure thing, ‘Jack,” Blurr replied with a smile. “Oh! How’s Smokey doing? Any news?”

Blurr glanced to Hot Rod, “He was with me when we were going Drag Strip. That slagger gave me an energon plague! Luckily Smokescreen was there. Mightabeenkinda…sketchy otherwise.” It struck Blurr that it might not be such a good idea to talk about the battle with Roddy. Whoops. Distraction! Yes. Blurr swiftly cast his optics around the medical bay until they settled on a small crowd kind of snooping around one of the doors to one of the private operating theatres.

“Huh…wonder what all the hub-bub is over there,” Blurr said indicating the small crowd. “Come to think, I haven’t seen Ratchet around for a bit. Maybe he’sbusy withsomething?”

Main Science Lab

After what seemed to be an eon, Jetfire woke up from his mental daze. He was running all of the possibilities of what all of this experimentation would be like and what the next steps needed to be. The big question now is do they split up to explore their current ideas or try to stay close. Both ideas were valid and the movement of the ships would prove to be a problem if they don't act now.

"I have decided the Iron Fist does have the better idea even if I would prefer staying closer together. The biggest problem is the room he and First Aid will need to scan the mechs they have in mind. Remember, Ironfist and First Aid, the Aerialbots and Protectobots take priority and then anyone you would want. Having such small pool of possible candidates wouldn't do well in case we miss others who could fit the program or might discover other things we would miss out. The thing I ask is a report of whatever you find every ten cycles. Search for our main goal but also take note of other unique signatures with possibilities. If anyone asks, we can say we are conducting a very thorough scan due to the fight with the Fallen. Remember the project is top level classified and only after the selection of whoever we test on then we might let them know. Many will detest this whole idea if they found out what we are doing."

Jetfire looked over the members of his team which is getting ready to split. The Trion is still a massive warship but the most advanced ship the Autobots currently have. The Ark-22 has the room for the large number of mechs he feels like Ironfist and First Aid is wanting to examine and still should have the technology available to create whatever devices they need.

"The one thing we have to consider is these humans have an interest in large robots combining. Before everyone showed up, Ironfist was doing some research on something called Voltron, I think. I had the computer expand the search and it seems there are other ideas they have but all are created for their entertainment on something on a TV or other media. These humans can be a creative race and some of their ideas might actually work for us with some modifications. The Trion team will look more into what I found."

"Computer, where are the locations of the Aerialbots and Protectobots?"

"Commander Hot Spot is on Earth on a mission, First Aid is currently in your location, and the rest are on the bridge of the Guardian. All of the Aerialbots are on the bridge of the Ark-22."

"Summon the Protectobots to the bounce pad and have them meet their fellow Protectobot First Aid and Ironfist to bounce over to the Ark-22. Then send a message to the Ark-22 notifying them to meet the Protectobots in the bounce chambers and await orders from Ironfist."


>>Streetwise, Groove, and Blades, please report to the bounce chamber to meet Ironfist and First Aid for a special mission.<<

Medical Bay

Thank Primus for Wheeljack thought Cliffjumper. It was good to get some reassurance of Roddy's physical health.

“Keep an optic on him until Arcee gets here. He shouldn’t be alone right now. Got it?” said Wheeljack.

Cliffjumper simply saluted Wheeljack and then turned his attention to Hot Rod.

"So, Roddy, I noticed you have a bit of an upgrade! It looks awesome! I think Arcee will like it," Cliffjumper chuckled.

"How's Smokey doing?" said Blurr.

"Smokescreen? He was with you Blurr?" asked Cliffjumper.

Blurr glanced to Hot Rod, “He was with me when we were going Drag Strip. That slagger gave me an energon plague! Luckily Smokescreen was there. Mightabeenkinda…sketchy otherwise.”

"Ahh umm... hmm," Cliffjumper decided it was in Roddy's best interest to not talk about such subjects right after he just had a traumatic situation relating to them.

“Huh…wonder what all the hub-bub is over there,” Blurr said indicating the small crowd. “Come to think, I haven’t seen Ratchet around for a bit. Maybe he’sbusy withsomething?”

"Oh, uh, I am not sure. I would guess that Ratchet would be tending to some more urgent patients. Come to think of it, where's Optimus?" asked Cliffjumper.

Medical Bay

*thud*

Clocker realized where he was. He was on the floor of a medical bay sitting next to an open CR chamber.

“Wha… ngh,” he grunted as he was trying to snap back into reality.

Hmm I don’t remember being injured terribly bad, why was I in here for so long? Clocker tried to remember as memories slowly returned to him.

Ahh yes, the battle with ‘the Fallen’. What a mess. Then he remembered what happened to Hot Rod. Man it must’ve been painful. I hope he is alright.

Just then, Hot Rod started banging against his CR chamber door and screaming. Hot Rod dumped himself onto the floor as it opened. Clocker jumped up off the floor prepared to help, but then fell back on the floor due to delayed reaction and dizziness. “Roddy!?” shouted Clocker as he realized he was seeing double.

Hot Rod ran over to some other Bots farther away but in the same room as he shouted for Blurr. Clocker squinted his eyes trying to figure out who they were. Uh there’s Blurr obviously, and I think I also see Cliffjumper and Grapple.

Wheeljack appeared to look over Hot Rod after Cliffjumper had called for some help. Looks like Hot Rod is doing alright. That’s good.

Clocker sat back up and held his face for a bit. He just needed some time to wake up some before interacting with anyone else. It had been an awfully violent time at the battle, and he needed to have some peace and quiet.

After a while of letting distant ‘Bots chat amongst themselves a bit, Clocker got up and walked over to where Blurr, Cliffjumper, and the ever-important Hot Rod were talking, as he passed Wheeljack on his way walking from the scene.

“Uh, h… hi,” said Clocker simply. Clocker let out a small yawn before he then put a slight smirk on his face. Now that the Fallen is gone, it’s time for new adventures.

Bridge

Streetwise heard the communication from Jetfire. It didn't make any sense for the team to be summoned off the bridge but the attached priority code made him wonder what it was all about. Streetwise turned around to face his fellow Protectobots.

"Blades, Groove, what do you think of the strange summon? What sort of scans would First Aid need to do on us? I would think the usual decontaminate scans we do every time we bounce should get rid of anything."

Blades turned to Streetwise with an equal puzzled look on his face. He preferred being out in the air blowing up Seekers or other Cons instead of here sitting in front of a console. He hated being examined even worse though so this idea really didn't sit well with him.

"I don't mind Jetfire in the sky when he is destroying Seekers and sometimes comes up with some crazy but useful weapons. Maybe this involves one of his experiments. At least it will be First Aid looking at us. He knows our quirks better than anyone else."

Groove considered what was being said about the missive. He agreed it seemed odd for the request.

"We can either sit here and wonder what is going on or at see what Jetfire has in his processor for us. It isn't like we are doing much here on the bridge and Hot Spot isn't here. He rarely leaves us unless he got a mission without us."

"So we are in agreement about heading down to the bounce chamber and to the Ark?"

Blades and Groove both nod at Streetwise. The trio signal for their replacements and start to head toward the bounce chamber.

Medical Bay: Security Isolation Ward

For the most briefest of instants, and perhaps for the first time in nearly an eternity, a flicker of pity flashed in Ultra Magnus' bright blue optics. Pity for the enemy was one thing, he had felt that on the rarest of occasions when a misguided Decepticon soldier attempted to spew unjustifiable rhetoric to justify their actions during a battle or campaign. Pity for them for allowing themselves to succumb to the delusions of their pitiless and nigh merciless commander and tyrant king, never truly knowing that regardless of their contributions to the power grab that was Megatron's bid for power... they would never see its benefits.

But for this one nano second, Magnus allowed himself to feel pity for the architect of the galaxy's near destruction. Megatron was a great many things. Ego-maniacal, arrogant, powerful, justifiably obnoxious to a fault... definer of charisma and persona... These were traits he enjoyed lacing together to act as a thin vainer to cover his cruelty, cunning and genius. Traits that were more often than not most recognizable. For as long as Ultra Magnus had known the former Miner and now Gladiator King, he had never known him to never exude an air of control... of domination of any situation. The Autobot Commander recognized this outburst as something that was not only out of character for the tyrant.

Something was definitely wrong with this situation. Megatron was too arrogant to display such a failing of psychological control. As the patient stopped his struggling, for the time being, and settled into a muted conversation of incoherent words and phrases in a low tone, intermixed with nonsensical musings... as if Megatron himself was holding a conversation not only with himself but a series of entities that perforated his meta processor.

Magnus stepped back from the slab and approached Pharma as the doctor commenced with the remote examination. He stopped on the opposite edge of the control panel and glanced back at Megatron's prone form as the gladiator proceeded to hold court with himself. "Mores the pity," his tone was reserved and quiet so that only the medic could hear him. "Prepare him for transport to the Ark. I want him bounced to a secured medical cell in the ship's brig."

He turned to face Pharma with an almost unreadable expression. "The use of site to site transport is now authorized for this transfer. Once you and the prisoner are secured, report to Kup on the status of our guest. I want to keep knowledge of Megatron's presence from spreading further than it already has. However, I am authorizing Kup direct interrogation authority over Megatron."

He reached over the lip of the control terminal and grabbed a data slate in his left palm. He spun it around and brought it before him. A brief moment of silence hung over the ward as the Autobot Commander plugged in and sent a new missive to the defacto commanding officer of the currently under construction Autobot City.



Ultra Magnus finished the official orders and entered a secured encryption key that was known only to a handful of officers... particularly those who had been taught by Kup all those vorns ago. He spun the pad around and handed it to the medic. "Make sure these orders are passed along to Kup as well... keep me posted on Megatron's medical condition. I want to be informed as soon as he is lucid enough for questioning."

With that he turned towards the force field protected hall and disappeared from the ward.

In between two of the final barriers, Magnus finally activated a secured line to Sky Lynx, the powerful Autobot Warrior that had been most patient. "My apologies for the delay in my response Sky Lynx. Frankly my hand have been rather full over the last several breems... as you can imagine. To address your initial concern. I am fully aware of Grimlock's actions, and have taken punitive actions and recourse accordingly. While initially unauthorized, the transfer of the Trion was already on the docket of items that was going to happen in due course regardless of the Dinobots activities."

He pressed his hand on the security pad to deactivate the third and final barrier. As the Dinobird expressed, was it a displeased tirade or was it... well Magnus could not directly tell. His attention was divided between the massive transport and the chronometer. Quietly he tapped into the subspace transceiver and searched the communication's logs for a report from Springer's unit. The assignment he had given the triple changer was not especially harrowing, but... "They are over due."

"Sky Lynx. Now that you are in system, I require your... specialized talents for a little while. A few hours ago I dispatched Springer on board my personal combat shuttle the Longevity. Their mission wasn't especially difficult, a simple weapon's test. However, they are a touch overdue with their last status report. I want you to locate the Longevity and render whatever assistance is necessary." Magnus paused as he turned the corner and exited into the main expanse of the Guardian's medical bay. "Their weapon's test must not be interrupted by the Decepticons."

Medical Bay

Hot Rod looked up at Cliffjumper when he made mention of the cavalier's newly upgraded form. Roddy hadn’t even noticed yet that his body appeared different than before his possession by the Fallen. Of course, considering the extent of the mutation the fiery demigod had done to his overall frame, a reformat had obviously been required. A combination of Axle’s handiwork and the CR chamber's regenerative and modification abilities had effectively given him a new body and likely a new alt mode, as well.

“Yeah, I don’t even know what I turn into now,” Hot Rod replied with a chuckle, looking briefly down at himself. “Not that it matters. It doesn’t change what happened, what I did.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Roddy. It wasn’t your fault,” Wheeljack interjected before his attention was drawn to Blurr, who was asking about Smokescreen. “Smokey’s doing just fine. He’s right over there with Tracer. Good as new,” Wheeljack responded as the speedster then began telling Hot Rod about how Drag Strip infected him with an energon plague. The mechanical engineer cast the blue racer a deep frown. What the frag was he thinking bringing a sensitive subject like that up? Thankfully, Blurr stopped himself and quickly changed the subject, noticing a small group of mechs huddled around the entrance to one of the private rooms.

“I have no idea what’s going on or where Ratchet currently is. Between fixing Smokey’s arm, Trailbreaker’s force field emitter and nursing Tracer back to health, I really haven’t had time to notice anything else happening around here,” Wheeljack admitted as Cliffjumper then inquired about Optimus Prime’s whereabouts. “Have you been living under a rock lately, Cliff? Prime disappeared when the Decepticons’ volcano base blew up. He’s presumed dead, but I’ll believe that when I see an actual body. Until then he’s just missing in action.”

Having said that, Wheeljack turned and began to slowly approach where the small crowd was gathered near the private room, his curiosity piqued. The inventor’s trip was cut short, however, when he finally received a private communique back from Perceptor. “Well, it’s about time,” the mad scientist muttered to himself as he stopped his forward momentum while at the same time opening a secured channel back to the sniper:

>>”Perceptor, I thought you had forgotten about me! Heh. That’s fine. I’ve only just skimmed through the data, as well. I can meet you in your lab if that’s better for you. Or, we can meet in mine. Whichever works best. And I’ll be happy to assist you with analyzing that Ore sample. See you in a breem or two.”<<

Closing his comm line, Wheeljack turned again and walked back towards the cavalier, Blurr, Cliffjumper and the newly arrived Clocker. “Well, guys, I have to get going. Duty calls. I’ll be over on the Guardian working on some new projects with Perceptor if anyone needs me. And remember, take it easy for awhile, Roddy. Don’t overexert yourself,” Wheeljack said sternly once again, pointing his first actuator directly at the still seated cavalier.

“I won’t, Jack. I won’t,” Hot Rod promised with a slight smile before looking back down towards the floor.

“Good ‘bot,” the engineer responded before casting one last glance over at Smokescreen and Tracer who were both too consumed with being reunited to notice much else. They’d be fine for the time being and if they needed anything Wheeljack was only a comm away. “All right. See you guys later.” With those words spoken, Wheeljack hurried towards the doors and quickly exited the med bay, heading for the frigate’s bounce chamber.

“I hope Arcee gets here soon,” Hot Rod muttered to himself, letting out a deep sigh before his optics drifted over towards the small group of mechs crowded around the door of the private operating room. “There must be someone important in there. I wonder who it is.”

Medical Bay

“Yeah, I don’t even know what I turn into now,” Hot Rod replied with a chuckle, looking briefly down at himself. “Not that it matters. It doesn’t change what happened, what I did.”

"Ahh don't be hard on yourself Roddy. The Fallen was one evil spawn-of-a-glitch. It wasn't your fault," said Cliffjumper.

Wheeljack admitted as Cliffjumper then inquired about Optimus Prime’s whereabouts. “Have you been living under a rock lately, Cliff? Prime disappeared when the Decepticons’ volcano base blew up. He’s presumed dead, but I’ll believe that when I see an actual body. Until then he’s just missing in action.”

Cliffjumper crossed his arms and looked at the floor, "Well, I was just hoping that he had been found. It is just a hard thing to believe when you're being told that Optimus is gone. Who is going to lead us now if he's gone? Magnus?" Cliffjumper just shook his head as if he was ringing the thoughts out of his head.

Cliff then looked up with a questioning face, "Hey, Jacky, where did that blast come from? What are you keeping in that room?" Cliff was pushing Wheeljack's buttons a bit he could tell, but then Jacky just simply ignored him. "Eh whatever," said Cliffjumper.

As Clocker stumbled over to the scene, Cliffjumper smirked at him, "You seem chipper."

Clocker responded in a cheery tone as he always does, "Well, after the Fallen gone, one can only be 'chipper' about it."

Cliffjumper responded, "Well, in case you missed it Clocker, Optimus might be gone for good... or 'bad' if you want to make the expression fit the occasion more. I wasn't as close to Optimus as Bumblebee, but it would be a huge loss if he is gone."

Clocker went strait-faced as he batted his eyes slowly to Hot Rod, and then back to Cliffjumper, "Well, let's just hope that is not the case. Until we find him, I am going to assume that he's still functioning."

Clocker then looked back at Hot Rod, "Hey dude! Wow, that new look looks great on you! What do you turn into now?"

Cliffjumper responded to Clocker before Hot Rod could, "he said that he has no idea. He didn't even notice until I pointed out that he looks different."

Cliffjumper then grinned at Hot Rod in a mischievous manner, "Hey Roddy! Maybe when Arcee shows up, we should tell her that you turn into something funny. I don't know, what do you think she'd laugh at?"

Clocker chuckled, "Really Cliff? You're going down that rout again?"

"What?!" said Cliff with a big smile on his face.

"You're such a blighter," Clocker said as he laughed at Cliffjumper.

"What do you think Blurr?" asked Cliffjumper.

Medical Bay

“Phew…” Blurr sighed with some relief as he heard that Smokescreen was somewhat recovered. Good. Good. Hearing Cliffjumper mention Optimus made the blue speedster perk up a bit only to have his expression sour a bit at hearing Cliff had been mistake. Still, where had the minibot been to miss that memo. At least he was keeping a positive outlook about it.

“Yeah, Optimus has survived worse things than being in the middle of a volcano as it erupts, right? Maybe? Probably. Still, you’d have thought we would have found something…any trace of either him or Megatron. Butnope. Poof! Liketheywereneverthere.” Blurr shrugged. It was weird. But weirder things had happened since then. Demi-gods. Truces. Not that it didn’t take its toll on Blurr, but he was at least capable of coping with it now.

Blurr grinned at Wheeljack as the scientist made his move to leave, waving a little good-bye.

“There must be someone important in there. I wonder who it is.”

“Hmm…maybe Magnus? He’s the new supreme commander and all. But, you know. There’s always the direct approach to figure that out Roddy.” Blurr said with a wink to the cavalier. As Cliffjumper and some new bot chatted amongst themselves, he found his curiosity being tugged at by the crowd at the door. Huh…Even with Magnus being the new supreme commander…that was an awful curious looking crowd. Pushing off the wall, Blurr made to move toward the crowd when he heard his name.

He glanced back to Cliff and Clocker. “Huh? What’s up guys?”

Blurr rewound his brain a couple ticks. “Oh! Something funny? No idea. Trash compactor?”

Having answered that query and offered his own suggestion, Blurr’s mind raced back to where it had been. He looked at Hot Rod and indicated the crowd. “C’mon, let’s check it out!” Blurr took off in a jog toward the crowd and instantly regretted it. “Whoops.”

Losing his balance, Blurr half-leaned, half-crashed into the wall, catching himself so that he at least didn’t go tumbling across the floor. “Ahhh..alright. Not my finest moment,” Blurr muttered. Moving with a bit more care, he approached the crowd about to reach out to one of the mechs when he heard someone mention something peculiar.

“What…was that…about Prime?” he asked.

One of the mech turned to Blurr, wide-eyed. “Someone saw him brought in there. I dunno for sure, but then Bumblebee and Jazz went in too…”

“Kinda makes you think that maybe…” another chimed in.

Engineering Deck: Ironfist's Office

It had been a few minutes since the official dismissal of the initial meeting Project Superior Titan work team. It had been somewhat productive, given most everything that was discussed was still fairly hypothetical. To tell the truth, Ironfist had no real means as to judge how truly productive the debates were. There was no basis for any of these wild hypotheses in which to compare what they believed might happen with regards as to what had happened in the past. Even after Ultra Magnus had unsealed the classified works of the mad scientists of days gone by, Ironfist was still having a difficult time reconciling what had happened all those eons ago with what he and his team members were going to attempt in the near future.

The Chief Engineer of the Medical Frigate, Guardian, entered his office and immediately activated the chamber's vaulted lights to one quarter. It was enough to allow him to navigate the clutter and stacks of unfinished weapon packages, data slates and repair reports that demanded his attention. Ironfist eyed the central stack of freshly piled tablets with a dubious sense of dread.

Typically, when the engineering chief was dispatched on a mission that took him away from his ship, Ironfist would expect that the reports would be filtered down to his executive. Unfortunately, his second in command was down on the surface enduring the constant depression generating whines of a fellow engineer, Huffer. That left the weapons designer with precious little in the way of a command staff to remain on board the Guardian once he transferred his duties to the Ark 22 for the duration of his experiments and examinations.

He pulled out a stool from behind his desk and immediately activated the station's work terminal. A few commands later and the terminal screen erupted into a steady stream of text, containing names of the engineers currently assigned to the Guardian, the Battleship Trion and to the Ark 22. It took only a few moments for the officer to select a half dozen non commissioned officers from the two neighboring vessels and initiated the transfer process to bring them under his direct jurisdiction. Once the paper work was transmitted to the newly arrived Chief Quartermaster, Ironfist deactivated the terminal link to the mainframe and adjusted his attention to his own command structure.

It took only a moment longer for Ironfist to transmit the new orders to his first noncom, the computer specialist Colt, informing him of his temporary elevation in the hierarchy of the Guardian's boiler room. Not too glamorous a position, of that the Chief was certain. He was leaving Colt with a skeletal crew of engineers that could maintain the ship and keep her new upgrades running without effort. But if the ship itself ever found itself in battle... well he shuddered to think as to what would be the effect. Still, the six transfers would give Colt a few more hands in order to get the Guardian compatible with the new weapons grid that his staff had been drafting for the frigate's next true refit.

Now, with matters of the proverbial house settled, Ironfist deactivated his work station and added Colt's access codes to the work shop's identification modules. It would allow his new third to enter the office and attend to the piles of paper work and reports that would continue to multiply without end.

He stepped from his desk and made his way towards the main egress, until he was stopped by a six legged courier droid. It immediately activated a holographic projector. It was a series of missives and orders from Ultra Magnus, albeit in a round about fashion. Once Ironfist acknowledged receipt, the droid's cargo hatch split open on its abdomen along a top set of seems. A near silent whir of invisible servos and rotors only worked to build only a small sense of anticipation... And then the object once contained in its cargo port was revealed, and the weapon's designer was stunned.

Immediately, Ironfist went back to the holographic message and rechecked the artifact that had been revealed. "You've got to be pulling my transistors." He muttered to himself as he rubbed at the bottom of his mouth guard. "A fusion cannon? Recovered from where?..." His optics darted to the missive and skimmed for the relevant data.

"Recovered by salvage operatives during... the last battle between Megatron and Optimus?" He bowed his head in silent admiration, not to the combatants involved in such a tragic fight, but the the glorious instrument that now sat before him.

Quickly, Ironfist ordered the droid to secure the package in its cargo hold and immediately head to the bounce chamber. He would not leave this opportunity to wither on the vine. And as the droid skittered to its new destination, the chief engineer followed suit. Soon he would be on board the Ark 22, where he would over see not only the construction of a new form of weapon... but also... the thought creased a smile underneath his guard as he boarded the lift back to the mid decks and his departure.

Medical Bay:

Cliffjumper chuckled at Blurr's response, "Trash compactor? Haha that should work."

Moving with a bit more care, he approached the crowd about to reach out to one of the mechs when he heard someone mention something peculiar.

“What…was that…about Prime?” Blurr asked.

Cliffjumper's optics widened with interest as he followed along with Blurr, with Clocker following behind.

"I knew it!" blurted out Clocker as he had a huge grin on his face.

"Don't be too quick to believe things not yet proven Clocks," said Cliffjumper looking up at the 'slightly' younger Autobot.

But then, Cliff smirked at Clocker and said, "However, maybe my 'stupid question' to Wheeljack was not so stupid after-all?"

Medical Bay – Private Room

"Well twist my transistors! Look who's back and up already!"

Optimus’s optics flicked to the door of the medical bay as they opened, noting the entrance of the intel officer. “Not quite up, but back…in friendly company, for the time being at least. It is good to see you again, Jazz.” The Prime’s face darkened a bit as his friend commented on the blast mark in the wall. His fists clenched slightly. He felt the slightest bit uncomfortable without his trusty blaster at his side. Yet, his discomfort was a worthy sacrifice for the safety of his Autobots.

“I…” Optimus began somewhat uncertainly, “I thought…” Optimus shook his head.

Bounce Chamber

In a bright white flash, Kup appeared in the bounce chamber of the Guardian. At least he hoped it was the Guardian. He'd been hoppin' and boppin' around so many fraggin' ships lately it was hard to keep track.

His official orders hadn't come through, but Kup had a pretty good idea of where they were going to stash Megatron away for the time being if they were sending him to the Ark-22. More importantly, the transmission from jazz gave him a pretty good idea of where the intel officer was, and also the location of their old friend. He couldn't believe Optimus Prime was alive and no one seemed to be making a big deal of getting the word out. The Autobots needed every morale boost they could get.

It's been too long, Kup thought as he walked, picking up the pace a little with every step. With a few corners rounded and a few doors bypassed and a few security codes utilized, Kup soon found himself in the same room as, well, he supposed he had to see it to believe it. Optimus Prime.

“I…I thought…”

"Y'thought Jazz was gonna keep ya all to himself, eh big guy?" Kup said with a grin as his optics looked over at Jazz and then at the Prime himself. "Great slaggin' Primus. Glad to see you're alive, Prime."

Corridors

As Jetfire walked down the corridors with his team to the bounce chamber, he laid out some of the research Ironfist stumbled upon down on the mud ball called Earth.

"It seems the Earthlings have an idea about larger robots. Ironfist somehow stumbled upon some animation relating to combination of robots. These animations are fake and used for entertainment but do provide some possible ideas. The two series, one which Ironfist found and the other I did, are called Voltron and Power Rangers. Both have several iterations with Voltron being around 4 or 5 and Power Rangers close to fifty between its Japanese and American counterparts. This Voltron is made up of a group of five lions or three squads of five vehicles. The most common iteration are the lions. This one is probably most compatible with our two special team units since in some iterations the black lion is the center and the rest, with some sizable differences, are the limbs. Power Rangers has a large variation of combinations anywhere from the Duocon method to six of them all in one large robot. Some of their robots which they call zords transform straight into vehicle or beast into what they call a megazord. It is almost scary to think we might be accepted as their dreams coming true. I'll spare you all the details of all the combinations until we get into the laboratory on the Trion. Then I'll show you the ones which most likely pertain to what we need."

Jetfire made a special file of the weapons and different zord combos in a video file. He added his own commentaries to it and sent the file to Ironfist.

>>Ironfist, we will need to figure out a way to equip our new behemoth once it is built. The weaponry will most likely be a second phase to this idea. These are the possible ways of doing it. We could do the usual way but this Power Ranger series has smaller zords joining up with the larger one to form weapons or different limbs. It would be interesting to see if we can go that route if we have enough drones to use.<<


Bounce Chamber

Upon entering the bounce chamber, Jetfire sees the Protectobots minus Hot Spot. He knew Hot Spot would join up once whatever mission he was on was done.

"Good to see you all got my summons, Protectobots."

Blades looked at Jetfire quite irritated.

"So what is this all about, Jetfire? Are you afraid we got some sort of mud ball rash? All I got was a lot of heat from those fire demon birds and dust."

Jetfire calmly looked at Blades and wondered how Hot Spot kept control of such a decisive group.

"First Aid and Ironfist will explain things once they get here. I hope you all don't mind if we use the bounce chamber to bounce over to the Trion on first while you wait on those two to get here."

This time it was Streetwise who spoke up.

"I think we all are a bit curious as for this summoning. As for the bounce chamber, since it seems you are the mech in charge go right ahead. This better be worth summoning us from our positions."

"Thank you, Streetwise, and yes if this all goes according to plan it will be well worth the effort we all are putting into it."

Jetfire led his team to the bounce pad and then signaled the controller to beam them to the Trion.


OOC: Jetfire's group can continue posting on the Trion thread.

Medical Bay – Private Room

The door hissed open once again to admit a larger figure this time. Red optics gleamed, and Optimus jerked upright in surprise. He reached for his blaster- but stopped as soon as he recognized the familiar form of Kup. Covering his optics with a hand, Optimus tried to regain his composure a bit. Perhaps it had just been a trick of the light. He wasn’t so naïve as to actually believe that, but he could hope. He certainly preferred this…this to what exactly?

"Great slaggin' Primus. Glad to see you're alive, Prime."

“You too, old friend,” Optimus said warmly, a hint of mirth in his voice. Had he gone somewhere? His memory was…clouded. “What…happened to me?” Clearly, he had been injured. Ratchet was here as well. Yet it felt like he had not…seen many of them in…When was the last time he’d seen Kup? Ratchet? When-

Kup had his arm slung around Prime’s shoulders as the larger mech helped the older, injured one across a battlefield. Explosions crowded them, and he could hear the furious cries of the Decepticons from behind. They reached a shuttle. Its boarding ramp lowered as Ratchet bustled out in his alternate mode. Optimus loaded Kup onto it.

“Go! Go!” the Prime urged, whipping around and drawing his blaster to deal with their pursuers. He suddenly found himself staring down the end of a fusion cannon’s barrel as its owner raced toward the shuttle.

“You won’t get away from me! PRIIIIIIIIIIIIME!”

“Mega-“

“-tron,” Optimus blinked, suddenly back in the medical bay. Confused. Lost. It must be…after that battle…? The Prime looked to Kup urgently. “Megatron! Where is he?”

Medical Bay

After having excused himself from Jetfire’s group, Rewind had made his way back to the medical bay alone. He rubbed his recently reattached neck gingerly. It ached something fierce. As he did, a familiar face bustled past with what seemed like purpose. Kup. Where could he be going in such a hurry? Curious, Rewind followed him only to see him enter a secure section of the medical where Blurr, Cluffjumper and several others were congregated.

Puzzled, Rewind walked up to the door and knocked on it a few times. He glanced around at the clumps of gathered people. He just barely managed to catch some of their whispering.

”Do you think…”

”But he said that he saw him go in!”

”I know, but…I don’t wanna get my hopes up…”

Medical Bay-–Private Room

Kup sort of stood in stunned silence for a few moments, just sort of taking in what he was seeing, almost not trusting his optics to be telling him the truth. But seeing was always believing. Nothing better than evidence that was right in front of your face.

“You too, old friend. What…happened to me?”

"Uh..." Kup stammered. That was a billion shanix question right there. Kup didn't have the foggiest idea what really happened to Optimus Prime or Megatron. They were gone, for all practical purposes dead after the battle at Mt. St. Helens. And now they weren't. That means whatever it was that had snatched them out of off Earth, it hadn't been the jaws of death. Something else was definitely at play. Whatever the case, Kup didn't have the answer to that question.

Kup watched as Optimus' gaze became distant and distracted. His body was here, but there was something more than meets the eye going on in Prime's brain module.

“-tron...Megatron! Where is he?” Prime stammered suddenly. Kup lurched forward to steady his old friend.

"Megatron? He's....he's here Optimus. Ultra Magnus and Prowl have him secured. I have to make sure he-"

But Kup's explanation was interrupted by a small but insistent knock on the door. Kup looked over at Jazz.

"You expectin' company?" he said as he stepped away from Optimus and approached one of the consoles. "It's Rewind."

Medical Bay - Private Room

Good to see the old timer was still able to keep up the verbal sparing these days. Jazz was beginning to grow afraid the rust had finally gotten to Kup's humor.

"You expectin' company? It's Rewind."

"Rewind? I didn't call him or anything," the Specialist replied as he shifted straight up from leaning against the wall, "but the little guy is more than welcome. This is definitely an occasion the little dude should have for his archives! Megs in custody and the big 'Bot himself returning from the unknown! Yeah, let'im in!"

Medical Bay--Private Room

"Rewind? I didn't call him or anything, but the little guy is more than welcome. This is definitely an occasion the little dude should have for his archives! Megs in custody and the big 'Bot himself returning from the unknown! Yeah, let'im in!"

The fact that rewind had shown up unannounced had tripped a little warning trigger in Kup's mind, but one that he quickly dismissed: it was Rewind, after all. Come to think of it, given Magnus' updated orders, Kup couldn't really think of a better mech to assist him with what the Autobot Commander had in mind.

"Yeh...we need to get Optimus out in front of the troops soon. it'll do everybody's spirits good to know yer back, Prime," he said, looking over at Optimus as he keyed the access code. "When y'feel up to it, of course."

The doors slid away, revealing the diminutive form of Blaster's associate.

"Come on in, lad," Kup said. "Welcome to the best news you're gonna see all day, heh."