The Energon Pub

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."

Corridors / Outside Medical Bay

Shotblur nodded in acknowledgment to Prime, with a quick "On it," before hastily rushing over to the requested CR chamber. Bracing himself in preparation just in case Blurr needed to fall on him, he opened the chamber to release the mech inside. Glancing over him, Shotblur held in position if he needed to catch the mech, still uncertain that Blurr would not end up on the floor.

Medical Bay

Blurr had only hopped into the CR Chamber to repair some minor damage he had acquired on the mission, mostly some dents and scratches from careening around as fast as he always did, and to get recharged. He was startled when he was brought out of the cycle a little early. His fuel tanks were only 50% full, but all of the damage was repaired.

The courier stepped out of the chamber to see chaos all around the medical bay. Patients were being evacuated and there were scorch and burn marks around the room centered near a section of wall that had clearly been hastily patched up. He looked back at Shotblur, the Autobot who had awoken him. “Whatsgoingonhere? Areweunderattack?”

Medbay

Prowl helped Mirage out of the Medbay at a steady pace as to not mke the injured bot struggle to keep up, being on one foot. He opted not to say anything as hew as certain Mirage was in no mood for a conversation, as if Prowl could actually blame him.

Getting out and into the corridor provided a slight contrast form the now hectic events occuring in the medbay. It was quiet. As Prowl followed Primes energy signature to locate Wheeljacks's lab, he thought about what had happened. Clearly Megatron was behind this and most likely it meant the Decepticon Commander was preparing something. Once he had Mirage in Wheeljack's lab, he needed to get back to the command Center. Optimus could oversee things, but someone had to keep their eyes on possible Decepticon activity.

After a couple of minutes the finally reached...

Wheeljack's Lab

Prowl entered the lab with Mirage and walked him over to the table and lay the Spy on the table. Optimus and Ratchet stood inside, waiting. This was the first time he ahd been to Wheeljack's lab on the Ark. He was quite impressed by how well-kept it was compared the main lab back on Cybertron. He recalled numerous occassions when Wheeljack's experimental devices would often malfunction. And he rememebred walking on on explosions, on more than one occassion, when things went wrong for the their Weapon's scientist. However, it was not long after his own arrival on Earth that Wheeljack departed for Cybertron.

Returning his thoughts ot the current situation, he turned to Optimus and spoke. "Sir, I should return to the Command Center. This reeks of Decepticon ploy, and I would not put it past Megatron to be making some sort of move about now. All Autobots, not attending to the repairs, will be put on stand by."

Storage

Brawn arrived at the stoarge compartment just as he received Prime's response. As he walked in, Brawn began looking for wall panels. He activated some of his lights to provide some illumination in the massive room.. While he was no expert wih tools, he know how to locate what was needed.

"Let's see here..." he said to himself. "...Wall panels."

He walked down an isle that consisted of some larger parts. Brawn looked left and right for the pannels before he came to a container slightly larger than him. He looked and saw the markings "Bulkhead panels".

"Here we go!" he said smiling.

He hit a button to activate an access door. Walking in, he found numerous panels stacked in rows. After a quick examination, he grabbed several and walked out with them. They were heavy, but he could take it. He was built to carry a lot. After leaning the first batch next to a container opposite the one in use. Walking back in, he grabbed a few more and exited the container, placing the rest of the panels with the first batch.

"That should do it!" Brawn said, closing up the container and grabbing the pannels.

Bending down, he gabbed the pannels by the sides and lift them above his head, holding them up with both arms. Then, slowly, but steadily, Brawn made his way out of the storage bay and headed towards the Medbay where the real work awaited.

Med Bay

Hardhead stepped back from the wall as Ironhide’s adhesive kept the medical table in place against the damaged bulkhead. “Looks good to me. Hopefully, it will hold long enough for someone with more skills than us to do some proper repairs.” The war veteran managed to crack a smile at Ironhide, a mech he greatly admired and respected. This wasn’t the first time they had been stationed together and it probably wouldn’t be the last. They had been through many battles together and Hardhead could always count on the old red mech to come through in a pinch.

“I agree, Ironhide,” Hardhead replied. “We should hit the ‘cons now while we still can. Show them we mean business. But, I doubt Prime will go for it, not after what happened to Bumblebee.” The big green ‘bot stared at the patchwork that kept the wall from caving in before looking back at Ironhide again. “Unless, of course, you have any ideas on how to convince Prime to let us strike back.”

Outside the Ark-19

Using his blow torch, Smokescreen sealed a fourth crack that had developed in the ship’s outer hull as Hound did the same nearby. Once he was finished, Smokey backed away from the hull and scanned the surface for any more cracks or weaknesses. “Looks like we’re good, Hound. I don’t see any more cracks. The hull appears to be solid, at least from this side anyway. Just finish up on what you’re doing and we can head back.”

The diversion expert could feel the salt water creeping into his gears and causing his joints to stiffen up some. It wouldn’t be long before some real damage was done to his internal systems. “Actually, I’m gonna head back inside now, Hound. This salt water’s beginning to do a number on my circuits.” Smokescreen then turned and made his way back towards the air lock.

Medical Bay

Shotblur looked somewhat confused for a moment at the other Autobot's fast manner of speech before shaking his head. "We need to get out of here, Prime's orders. Haven't a clue what's going on."

On a level of urgency demanded by the situation, Shotblur rushed out from the Medical Bay and into the corridors. Scanning them with his optics, he paused once more. Now what...? The recon mech thought to himself. Like a typical rookie, Shotblur was confused and mildly panicked. Being unaware of events occurring in the immediate surroundings is a terrible feeling to have, especially for a mech as cautious as him.

Medbay

"Frag-it Hardhead, what happened to Bumblebee is half the durn reason we should hit those slaggers," Ironhide growled. Seeing his "Ah'm startin' to think we've been goin' about this the wrong way fer a while now. All this sneakin' around reactin' to what the 'cons do... we're never gonna win that way, a lot of good 'bots get hurt, and the people on this planet never even have a chance to defend theirselves. There's military sense there, and if we're convincing, we can make Prime see it. C'mon."

The old autobot made his way to the door, pausing only long enough to ensure that Hardhead was with him before heading off towards Wheeljack's lab.

Med Bay

Hex had spent the past few hours building, repairing and perfecting his arsenal of crossbow arrows. The last group he needed to finish required a specialized tool in order to calibrate them, and the young mech knew exactly where to get what he needed.

Hex made his way through the corridors until he finally came upon the Medical Bay. The door slid open as he stepped up to it and he walked inside. His attention was on the tool chest to the far right of the room as he addressed the occupants there.

“Hey Axle, can I borrow…”

He looked up before he could complete his question and caught sight of the far wall where Bumblebee had been located. The area was scorched and a make-shift patch, in the form of a med berth, was adhered to the wall. Hex began to scan the facility and noted that the CR chambers were all empty and Mirage was gone. He also didn’t see either medic, nor did he see Bumblebee.

The young mech was confused. He had been in his hideaway in another part of the ship and didn’t hear, or feel, the explosion.

“What the hell happened?”

Wheeljack’s Lab

Moments after Prime and Ratchet arrived Prowl entered with Mirage. The strategist placed the Autobot spy down on the table Ratchet had prepared. Prowl then addressed the Autobot Commander. Prime nodded in approval.

“Thank you, Prowl.”

Prime's attention was brought back to Ratchet as the medic resumed his work on Mirage’s leg. As Ratchet began attaching the limb, Prime spoke up.

“Is there anything else you need, Ratchet?”

Not wanting to stop, Ratchet kept his optics focused on his work and offered Optimus his response.

“I should have everything I’ll need here. Wheeljack may be a scatterbrain, but he always made sure he was prepared for anything, and that meant keeping spare parts on hand at all times.”

Ratchet finally looked up at Prime and then focused on Axle’s inert form. He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

“He should be in the CR chamber.”

Prime nodded and carefully scooped up Axle and placed him in the only CR chamber in the room. He set the cycle and stepped back as the door closed and the pod hummed to life.

Wheeljack's Lab

Prowl saluted as Prime gave his nod. Saying nothing, he exited the lab and made his way down the corridors. Aside the damage in the Medbay, everything was taken care of. Still, in his mind he thought to himself. "It could have been much worse." He had every reason to think that the explosive device was meant not just to take out the Medbay, but target possible Autobots vital to the function of the unit, such as Prime, Ratchet, and even himself. Axel was just the one unfortunant to find it. And the fact it didn't go off until discovered was an indication Soundwave was at the other end.

As he made a turn, he encountered Brawn.

"Whoa! head's up Prowl!" Brawn said, nearly losing his balance.

Prowl stepped aside to give Brawn room to pass with the bulkhead panels. Prowl knew Brawn well enough to know that the Autobots could carry quite a load. That was what he was built for Once the leaks had been taken care of, it would be a matter of getting everyone else fixed up and getting the Medbay back up and running.

"Sorry about that Brawn." Prowl said as Brawn passed. "I'll be in the command Center. Be on standby should I make the call."

"You got it!" Brawn said" as he continued towards the Med Bay.

Prowl then continued back towards the Command Center.

Command Center

Prowl walked in to the deserted command center, which had been left unattended in the rush to get to the medbay. Walking over to a terminal, Prowl did a scan for any unusual Cybertronian-related activity. There had been no indication of any unusual activity coming out of the northwestern region of the US area. Still, that was no reason to let his guard down. The Decepticons could try anything a any time.

Medbay

Brawn walked in, finding Ironhide and Hardhead leaving. It looked like a warzone, at first glance. He noticed Ironhide appeared to be in a somewhat sour mood as he left. Whatever it was, he'd ask later. They had a job to do first. He then noticed the youngster, Hex as well, who seemed to be a bit surprised by what happened.

"Well, it seems it's you and me then. Help me out here! I'll fill ya in." Brawn told Hex. Since fixing the bulkheads was apparently becoming second priority to some Autobots, he's going to have to make due with whoever was left.

He leaned the panels against a wall and grabbed the first one.

"I wonder, which one's the worst?" he asked.

Outside the Ark

Hound nodded as Smokescreen indicated they should return to the Arks interior. He wasn't feeling the effects of the water as quickly as the other Autobot, but he was designed for rougher terrain and longer periods in hostile environment. Still, their work was done. He followed the red-and-blue mech into the Airlock.

As the water drained out of the chamber, Hound reflected on the rushed events of the past while once more. "Man, the Decepticons must have planned this the moment they captured 'Bee...And now he'll need a whole new body, while the medbay is damaged....Slag!!" Hound can't help but feel guilty once more, despite promising not to blame himself for what happened at the oil rig. "We've gotta do something. We can't let this stand!!"

Just Outside Chicago

The I-90 was quickly becoming one of Jazz’s favorite places on earth. It seemed to provide endless opportunity to observe Earth’s culture in major urban areas like Chicago and Detroit, and the more rural areas often meant long stretches of open highway devoid of any law enforcement. Being a Porsche was truly exiting at times like these and always made Jazz admire the design aesthetic of German automobile manufacturers.

All in all it was perfect day. The sun was shining and Jazz had just finished another observe and report mission. People watching was quickly becoming his favorite hobby. Earth culture was fascinating and complex in just about every way. There was no telling at this point how the information he was gathering would be put to use for the war effort, but Jazz knew from experience that all information was important at the right time.

For now, though, it was about time to get back to the Ark and update his files. This time he’d been away for almost an orn and he thought the other Autobots might be getting lonely without him. Thankfully, Jazz didn’t have stay cooped up in the Ark all the time watching monitors. That would be a waste of his particular skills and not much fun.

Jazz pulled off the highway and searched for a secluded area where he could contact the Ark. The Poplar Creek Forest Preserve provided the perfect cover. Ensuring that there was no one nearby, Jazz opened communications to the Ark-19 command centre.

<<Jazz to base, come in. Any chance you could bounce a bot back to base?>>

Command Center

Prowl taped into whatever satellites and frequencies he could use to keep tabs on unusual activities from the command Center's main console. Thus far nothing. He would have expected Megatron to try something by now. It was only then that an incoming transmission was detected from outside.

Prowl hit a button on the console to receive it.

<<Jazz to base, come in. Any chance you could bounce a bot back to base?>>

It was Jazz, a much welcome voice to Prowl's audio receptors. Prowl hit a button to send a message.

>>Ark to Jazz. This is Prowl. I'll have you back in moments. Report to the Command Center when you return. A situation has occurred on board. I'll fill you in when you arrive.<<

Prowl quickly made for the OBP controls and homed in on Jazz's coorrdinates. Then, pressing a button, he activated the machine to bring Jazz back to the ship. He had not seen Jazz since his arrival. He only knew he was out on a mission. It would be interesting to see what findings Jazz brought back with him.

He then switched on his comm to Optimus Prime to inform him of Jazz's return.

>>Prime, this is Prowl. I've received a communication from Jazz. He's returning from his mission. I've activated the Orbital Bounce Platform for his return. He'll be returning to the Command Center upon arrival.<<

It was only a short hike down the corridor from the Medbay to Wheeljack's old lab. Both rooms were located in the Science section of the ship and only two pressure bulkheads separated them. With Hardhead close behind, Ironhide marched purposefully down the hall and into...

Wheeljack's Lab

The old red mech had an argument in mind when he set out to find Optimus Prime. It was reasonable and, if impassioned, at least moderately well thought out, but as usual, Ironhide's temper got the better of him, and all that went straight out the window.

When he saw the container with Bumblebee's spark, Ironhide was forcibly reminded of how close his friend had come to death, not to mention the collateral damage to poor Axle and the ship itself. Focused anger became pure rage, and instead of his reasonable argument, he simply demanded, "Prime! When are we gonna start kickin' Decepti-chops?!? This here deserves payback!"

Airlock

Smokescreen's circuits and joints felt better almost instantly as the salt water drained out of the airlock chamber. The diversion expert was happy he had been able to remain outside the ship long enough to help Hound make the necessary repairs to the hull. Without them a major breach and subsequent flood was a real possibility. The med bay had already sustained enough damage as it were. Adding a fair amount of salt water to the mix would've created even more problems and ruined more equipment.

Once the room was empty, the inner hatch slid opened and Smokescreen stepped out into the adjoining corridor. He turned to address Hound after listening to the green scout's comments. "I agree, Hound. The 'cons had this planned all along. They knew we'd mount a rescue attempt and when we did, they let us escape with 'Bee so that we'd carry the explosive right into the heart of our own base." Smokey grew angrier as he thought about the whole situation and how they had played right into the Decepticons' devious plans. However, he decided to look at the positive side of things and not dwell too much on the negative.

"As it were, at least we did get Bumblebee back even if a new body has to be created for him. It's better than losing him all together." Smokescreen looked down the hallway towards the direction of the med bay before returning his gaze to Hound. "And I also agree that something needs to be done. But, first thing's first. We should head back to the med bay and see if there's anything else they need us to do. Come on." With that said, Smokey started off down the corridor.

Medical Bay

Smokescreen entered through the open door and saw that the large room was now mostly empty with the exception of Shotblur and Brawn, who were attempting more permanent repairs to the damaged bulkhead. "Hey, fellas. Hound and I got the cracks sealed up outside. You guys need any help in here?"

Wheeljack's Lab

Hardhead followed Ironhide through the corridors of the ship until they arrived at Wheejack's Lab which was now serving as a temporary, makeshift med bay. The big green mech was a 'bot of few words. He usually preferred action over needless chatter. Therefore, he decided to let Ironhide do all the talking and hopefully convince Prime that a retaliatory strike needed to be taken against the 'cons for what had happened.

As Hardhead entered the lab, he stood back and watched Ironhide approach Optimus. The war veteran was sure that the old red 'bot had a good argument all set to convince the Autobot Commander of their position. Instead, Ironhide's temper came to the forefront as it usually did.

Decepti-chops. Now that's one I haven't heard in a while, Hardhead thought as he came up behind Ironhide and placed a calming hand on the angry mech's shoulder. "Good one, big red. That'll convince him." Hardhead chuckled and then looked to Prime to see what the Autobot leader's response would be.

Wheeljack's Lab

Mirage nodded gratefully as Prowl helped him out of the Medical Bay and into Wheeljack’s lab. He really wasn’t up to talking at that moment, his head swimming with the events of the day. They had rescued Bumblebee only to have him blow up inside of the base. They had lucked out that no one had gotten killed. It seemed that the Decepticons had stolen from the victory they had scored in rescuing the mini-bot.

The spy laid down on a work table as Ratchet began replacing his leg. He looked down at the other Autobot and sighed. “Pit of a day Ratchet. Can’t even rescue an Autobot right. I should have had him go through a full body scan before I let him off of the bounce pad. Should have known the rescue went off a little too well.”

Poplar Creek Forest Preserve

<<Roger that,>> Jazz replied to Prowl. The area around Jazz illuminated as the orbital bounce systems locked on to his stationary form. In an instant the forest faded from view and the familiar surroundings of the Ark took its place. Jazz transformed to robot mode and stepped off the transport platform and made his way to the command center, retrieving his data pad as he went. He scanned the data as he walked, amazed at the volume of work he’d done in one earth week.

Command Center

Jazz quickly stepped through the sliding door and spotted Prowl then made his way over. Snapping to attention, Jazz saluted. “Special ops director Jazz reporting, sir,” he said with a sly grin spreading across his faceplate. While it was true that Jazz outranked the strategist, he looked at him as more of a peer. Their jobs meant they spent much time working together. Plus, Prowl was the perfect foil to Jazz’s playful personality.

A quick glance at the command center revealed that the two Autobots were here alone. Typically this was the center of all activity. The calm was not lost on Jazz. “What gives, Prowl? Where’d everybody go?” he asked, a look of confusion growing in his optics. He knew something was up and was certain that Prowl would have a handle on the situation.

Medbay

Just as Brawn was about to get started, he heard a familiar voice. It was Smokescreen, who looked as if he had just come from a car wash. But some help was better than no help.

"Hey Smokescreen." Brawn said, greeting him. "These plates need to be fitted and welded onto the bulkhead to provide extra support. I had hoped Ironhide and Hardhead were gonna stick around, but it seems they had something else on their mind that was more important. I think once these are done, everything should be set to fix this place up. Care to give me a hand?"

Brawn grabbed a bulkhead plate and walked over to the most severe of the damaged hull.

"I'll place, someone weld!" Brawn ordered.

Command Center

Prowl smirked as his long-time colleauge arrived in the Commmand Center. Of course, Jazz wasted no time inquiring to what happened. Prowl felt it was necessary to fill him in.

"Bumblebee was abducted by the Decepticons on an oil platform. We managed a rescue operation and retrieved him, however, the Decepticons had already had their fun with him. He was brought back and his spark removed. However, not long ago, we learned that an explosive device had been placed within Bumblebee's shell and went off. His spark had been removed beforehand so he is awaiting a shell replacement." Prowl explained.

But of course there was more.

"However, Medbay is a wreck currently with Wheeljack's lab serving as a temporary makeshift medbay. Prime and Ratchet are there now tending to Axel and Mirage."

Witht hat out of the way, Prowl needed to ask Jazz for some assistance. He could only do so much as hew as one bot. He needed additional help keeping an eye on possible Decepticon activity.

"I'm sure Prime will be here shortly. In the mean time, I could use some help here. I'm trying to keep tabs on activity into and outbound from the Mt. St. Helens area, where we've established to location of the Decepticons fortress. Think you could lend a hand?" Prowl asked his comrade.

Command Center

“You got it, Prowl. This can wait,” Jazz indicated the data pad he was holding. He stowed it and headed over to the computer console Prowl was using. “You got anything on the Decepticreeps?” he queried as he took a look at the display. Once taking in the displayed information, Jazz then settled into a chair at the console next to Prowl’s. He input Prowl’s data and began scanning radio frequencies. Disappointingly, the Decepticons seemed to be preoccupied at the moment. There was no indication of any activity out side their base at the moment.

Once settled into the routine of scanning for something in the endless variations of radio waves, Jazz’s thoughts strayed to the well being of Bumblebee. Of course, he was in good hands with Prime and Ratchet but a silent prayer to Primus wouldn’t hurt either. Jazz would have to get more info on what happened later. As nice as it would be to strike back on the Deceptions, he was worried about the prospects of getting Bumblebee a new shell. No doubt Ratchet and Wheeljack could perform the task, but where were they supposed to get a new body?

Med Bay

Smokescreen smiled as he entered the medical facility, passing by a confused-looking Shotblur before approaching Brawn at the far side of the room. The minibot had several steel panels ready to be welded into place, which would provide a more permanent fix to the damaged bulkhead. All Brawn needed was someone to do the welding, and since no one else had yet to volunteer, Smokey decided he would step up and help out.

"No problem, Brawn," Smokescreen replied, still a bit damp from his swim earlier. His joints felt much better now that he was no longer exposed to all that salt water of the surrounding lake. Thankfully, his circuits hadn't suffered any real damage, especially since there were no CR chambers that were safe to use at the moment. Now Smokey could focus on doing anything he could to help further ensure the water would not penetrate the ship's hull.

Once Brawn had placed the first repair panel against the bulkhead, Smokescreen stepped up and ignited his torch once again and carefully began welding it to the wall. "I apologize if I'm dripping all over you, Brawn. Being outside in the lake was quite the experience, especially for someone like me who's not a great swimmer. But, regardless, Hound and I managed to fix things up out there without much of a problem," Smokey said, making conversation as he slowly followed the outline of the panel with his flame. It took a few minutes, but the diversion expert made it all the way around the edge before backing away to admire his handiwork.

"Well, that should do it. Seems pretty secure," Smokescreen said, looking over at the demolitions expert. "Grab another one of those panels for me, Brawn, and I'll weld it up there. We'll have this job done in no time!"

Medical Bay

Blurr quickly scanned the room again, taking it in along with what Shotblur had told him. It did look like a bomb had gone off, but it seemed that everything was alright now. Smokescreen and Brawn were applying some extra panels to the weakened wall and everyone was pretty much evacuated from the room save himself.

The speedster frowned. He didn’t particularly like being left out or behind on anything, let alone something this major. The Autobot looked around for some way he could still help out. He noticed that there was still some debris laying about from the explosion. Blurr darted into action, running around and collecting the bits of scrap to be recycled later.

Command Center

Prowl watched the overhead live map of the Mt. St. Helen's region. There was nothing of significance outbound. However, he did take note of residual engine signature inbound to the mountain not too long ago. He was not certain as to what it could have been in regards to, as it would mean taking his optics off of the region.

"This doesn't add up at all. They have our attention diverted, yet they choose not to act." Prowl said. He spoke not of frustration, but puzzlement. Strategically, it was best to act when an enemy was down or attention diverted. Megatron had done his to them. What was he waiting for? He was missing something.

He knew an opportunist, such as Starscream, would have taken action immediately. Starscream was easy for him to understand. Starscreamw as an opportunist, eager to please, and never liked waiting time unless it served him best. However, adding in his ambition had created what was often a continuous annoyance for Megatron. One that the Autobots had exploited on more than one occasion. but Megatron was always a mystery to him. He sometimes thought that the only one who truly understood the Decepticon leader's line of thought was Optimus Prime.

He had also not forgotten about the debriefing, but he could wait until Mirage was fixed up and Optimus back in the Command Center with everything running smoothly again. He still had to deal with Hex as well.

Medbay

Brawn grabbed another bulkhead panel and brought it over to the next leak for Smokescreen to secure. At this point, Blurr was making himself useful, though certainly he was sure the speedster was puzzled over what happened.

"A few more of these, and we should be set to go." Brawn commented to Smokescreen. "Ratchet will certainly have his hands full getting this place back in top shape."