I do not own Transformers or anything associated with them unfortunately. I do own Nightstrike though. If you do not like slash please do not read.
Nightstrike was not in a good mood at all. He had been on what was supposed to be a simple mission, unfortunately it had not stayed that way. It had been two and a half orns since he had last seen his three lovers. And he just knew that Sunstreaker was going to be in a bad mood because of his extended absence. Because really, there was only so much Bluestreak and Sideswipe could do to calm the golden warrior down when they themselves were feeling just as restless for the same reason. Very rarely did Nightstrike get missions that sent him so far from the Ark for any amount of time, much less for so long on the other side of the country, New York City to be exact.
The black Pontiac Trans Am vowed to get back at whoever had the Primus-forsaken idea to send him to play ambassador and peacekeeper at the United Nations Building. Not that Prowl would be at all happy to find out that a surprise summit had been called on behalf of his presence there. He did not like being caught in the middle of political bullshit. Sure he could deal with it and deal with it well but he hated having to do so.
Actually Prowl's reaction might work in Nightstrike's favor, especially when he is more than sure that Ironhide was the one to suggest and order Nightstrike to go on this particular mission as revenge for the last prank Sideswipe had pulled. He sincerely hoped that his lovers had been giving the old trigger-happy mech the Pit. That is if Ironhide fessed up to being the one who sent Nightstrike. Something the black mech very much doubted because it was very common knowledge among the Ark crew just how protective and possessive the Twins were of Bluestreak and Nightstrike. Finding out who had sent Nightstrike out on a mission by himself to an area that could not be reached by Autobots in an emergency was practically painting a target on that someone's back.
And unfortunately for that someone (Ironhide and the rest of those unlucky enough to be in the vicinity) the Twins and Bluestreak could and would get very vindictive. Nightstrike made a mental note to get a copy of the security footage from when he was gone from Ark from Red Alert, it would most likely prove to be great entertainment. There were perks to being friends with the paranoid Security Director. If nothing else this would teach everyone why it was a bad idea to send Nightstrike, or Bluestreak if anyone thought to try that suicidal idea, on solo missions without the possibility of immediate response back-up. It was usually up to the combined efforts of Nightstrike and Bluestreak to curb the Twins' more chaos-causing natures. With Nightstrike gone Bluestreak was more susceptible to Sideswipe's mischief and more prone to giving in to the whims of the Twins when they were in a bad mood in an attempt to placate them. Not that Bluestreak was weak-willed at all, it was just that the gentle gunner hated to see them unhappy, especially when he was feeling down himself.
The only reason that there had been no protest from his lovers over this particular mission is because they had been on a mission themselves with Jazz, Hound, and Trailbreaker. The footage of them being told would be quite the sight to see, especially if Ratchet was the one delivering the message. They always asked Ratchet of his whereabouts when they didn't find him in the medbay or in the room he shared with Bluestreak. Of course they all ended up in the Twins' room more often than not, but most of the rooms on the Ark were far too small to let the four of them share one.
Nightstrike had very advanced and sensitive sensors as well as a great talent for being a medic which is why he was more often than not serving alongside First Aid and Swoop as one under the watchful optics of Ratchet. It did not seem to matter one bit to the CMO that technically it was Wheeljack that he was supposed to be working with. His ability to get any patient, no matter how stubborn, even the Dinobots, to calm down, listen, and do as told as well as his extensive knowledge of the structures of flying Cybertronians might be the other deciding factors in Ratchet's decision, well besides those sensors Nightstrike possessed.
Luckily for Ratchet, though unknown to the mech in question, Nightstrike was working with Wheeljack to reproduce and even improve on the sensors because Ratchet was not the only one who envied them. Skyfire, First Aid, Perceptor, and Wheeljack himself rather wished they possessed sensors like Nightstrike's. And Nightstrike simply wished to stop the interruptions to his private time with his lovers. Being called away in the middle of interfacing was not pleasant or fun in any way, especially when it to provide assisstance through the use of those much coveted sensors.
Nightstrike roused himself from his thoughts when his sensors picked up Decepticon signals retreating from the Ark. He was tired and he felt like slag, not getting any recharge for at least a megacycle would do that to a mech. And if what he was picking up was correct then he would not be getting any of that much needed and wanted recharge when he got back to the Ark for quite some time. There were always patients in the medbay after a Decepticon attack or attempted infiltration, which meant that Nightstrike would have to report straight to medbay to help with the wounded. Listening to Ratchet yell about the state he was in when the cranky CMO finally noticed would just be icing on the cake as Sparkplug would say.
So he resigned himself to having to wait longer before he could recharge or see his lovers; duty in the form of reporting to Prowl and Prime as well helping with the injured came first.
xxxxxx
The chaos in the medbay when he arrived was not as bad as he had feared but neither was it as well as he could have hoped. Though it was a good sign that neither of the Twins or Bluestreak was in the medbay being subjected to Ratchet's tender mercies. In fact the black and silver accented mech could feel the presences of all three of his lovers but did not bother to pinpoint their exact locations. The Ark was just abounding with activity in the aftermath of an unsuccessful Decepticon infiltration attempt. Thankfully none of those hurt needed to stay in medbay overnight.
Ratchet's angry ranting over the general stupidity of those who had injured themselves was rather soothing in its familiarity to Nightstrike. So it really came as no surprise to the visored mech when he began to drift into a light recharge cycle in the safety of the medbay. Unfortunately as sunset approached mechs still wound up from the fighting from earlier, pretty much all of those in the Ark and not the four medics in medbay, had gathered in the rec-room. Also unfortunately, at least for them, they were being rather loud and Nightstrike was not the only medic who was tired and recharge deprived.
Ironhide getting into a large shouting match with Brawn, Cliffjumper, Huffer, and Gears did nothing to sweeten the dispositions of the Ratchet, Nightstrike, First Aid, and Swoop. One would think after the many occasions that all four of them had put the fear of medics in the various mechs on board that they would be more wary of upsetting the ones who usually got saddled with the task of welding their sorry afts back together after they went and slagged themselves. Especially after Swoop and Nightstrike had convinced First Aid that being pacifistic was going to help no one and that it could get a patient or one of his Protectobot brothers offlined permanently. Ratchet had indeed taught his apprentices well. All three of them were picking up the CMO's scary tendencies rather well to the despair of those foolish mechs who had held out hope that they would finally have medics who wouldn't chew their afts out for idiocy.
To the great woe and terror of the most of the crew they were about to have the fear of Nightstrike scared back into them by the visored mech himself. For too long had they forgotten why it was a bad idea to frag off the usually calm and patient mech. It was time they were reminded.
xxxxx
Nightstrike had not been the only medic falling into a light recharge in the medbay. Ratchet had let the black visored mech rest where he was after seeing the condition he was in. Because really, Nightstrike, well what could be seen with the battle-mask and visor he habitually wore, looked about as tired as Ratchet felt. The CMO even started to think about getting some energon for all of them then sending them all off to recharge properly when the noise Ironhide and the Minibots were making could be heard in the medbay.
A light glow could be seen beneath Nightstrike's visor which was warning enough to those who knew the signs of impending danger. The grip the black mech had on the wrench in his hand tightened ominously as a slight agitated growl escaped his vocalizer. And he was far from the only one upset at the shattering of the peaceful quiet of the medbay. Swoop's soft annoyed screech, First Aid's put-upon sigh, and Ratchet's own irritated growl corresponded with Nightstrike's disgruntlement.
Glances at their fellow medics showed that they were all going to see what the racket was about and put a definite stop to it. None of them were in the mood to put up this nonsense and the other three could tell just how in need of recharge Nightstrike was. The visored mech really should have been in his room recharging and had almost been ordered to do so, but it would do little good if there was no quiet in which to recharge in. And Nightstrike definitely would prefer to be recharging at the moment, preferably held against Sunstreaker's chassis so the golden warrior could be reassured that his visor-wearing lover was safely back with them where he belonged. It was times like that, that made Nightstrike wish that the berths in the Ark were big enough to accommodate four. Because he was going to have to reassure his lovers that he was back safely, which would be far from an easy task in his current condition.
xxxxx
Jazz was the first to notice from his position beside his lover Prowl; he also was the first one to notice the signs of impending danger. The steadily growing brightness of the visor of his fellow visor-wearing friend was a rather large clue as was the wrench held tightly in Nightstrike's hand. Jazz felt a wave of premonition as took in that sight as well as the sight of cranky visages of the medics who flanked Nightstrike. This did not bode well for anyone. The aura of impending doom and danger that seemed to radiate off them supremely fragged off Nightstrike as well as the supplementing auras of his fellow medics made Jazz wonder about the survival instincts of his fellow Autobots.
Of course it didn't take long for some of the others to look to see what had caught Jazz's attention. Prowl wasn't sure if he even wanted to attempt to stop what was sure to be a slaughter after he got a good look at Nightstrike and Optimus was of an alike opinion. Nightstrike was not to be trifled with. Bluestreak and the Twins who were near Jazz and Prowl froze when they caught sight of their lover. It did not take a genius to figure out that the fireworks were about to go off. Now was not the time to interfere and test their lover's now very strained patience.
What happened next would come back to haunt them all forever in their nightmares and even when awake on occasion if one was recklessly stupid enough.
xxxxx
Nightstrike contemplated the distance between him and the targets of his ire, the angle of trajectory, as well as the amount of satisfaction he would achieve before contemplating the wrench in his hand before saying 'screw it.' And it was perfect.
Everyone became aware something was going on when the sound of metal striking metal echoed throughout the rec-room. Nothing was more startling than seeing Ironhide, Brawn, Huffer, Cliffjumper, and Gears systematically go down from strikes to the cranial units as the sounds of metal hitting metal continued to echo. When the arguing mechs were laid out on the floor everyone in the room finally took notice of the very irritated medics and recoiled as one as the deadly aura they were all emitting became noticed.
Of course the truly horrifying part of that particular sight was the fact that Nightstrike's arm was in the catching position with the wrench in it. The dents the downed mechs were sporting were a testament to that. Ratchet's sinisterly gleeful optics and expression at his apprentice's accomplishment did little to reassure any of the mechs in the room. In fact it promised pain in the future. They were all so slagged.
The deadly and feared art of Wrench Ricochet had been born and it would not take long for Nightstrike to pass on his skills to his brother medics and their mentor. Many a mech would curse and rue the day that the art had been born and even more would curse those who had instigated its birth. Needless to say Ironhide, Huffer, Brawn, Cliffjumper, and Gear's contribution to its birth was not at all appreciated, especially by those who had been on the receiving end.
Most had forgotten that Nightstrike had primarily worked with the Wreckers before being placed under Optimus Prime's command. That meant that the visored mech was very used to life or death situations, violence in many forms, and was definitely no stranger to combat, even if he was a primarily an engineer/medic. One did not become a Wrecker by being passive in any way, in fact, one usually had to have a knack for violence to be one.
Though there were few who forgot just how dangerous the usually calm Nightstrike could be when provoked. The crew of the Ark had been shown once why Nightstrike was lovers with the Twins and Bluestreak and why in turn the visored mech had their respect.
Systematically and violently removing Dirge's wings from his chassis with a laser welder after forcefully grounding him through liberal use of Jet Judo when the Seeker had injured Bluestreak and then prevented Nightstrike and Wheeljack from reaching the downed gunner had pounded the fear of Nightstrike into Autobot and Decepticons alike. No sane Decepticon dared to attack the any of the Autobot medics or the gunner. The retribution rained down upon them from the more protective of the Autobot forces made such attacks suicidal in nature. Because really, who wants the Twins, Superion, Defensor, the Dinobots, or Wheeljack with his explosives after your aft? No one sane, which is probably why only those with a few nuts and bolts loose ever tempted Fate and permanent deactivation.
The ominously glowing visor was a big hint as to just how fragged off the medic was if the vengeful aura surrounding him did not clue anyone in. All the warning signs were there. If they weren't careful the full wrath of the medics would fall upon all of them swiftly and without remorse. And only a few of their number had the skills or the ability to stem that wrath. Of course there were a select few that were never subjected to that formidable wrath, though they shared with no one why this was so. Truly Prowl, Red Alert, Hound, Fireflight, and Bluestreak were blessed mechs in that regard. If any of the crew paid any attention they would know it was because those five were practically the only ones who listened to the medics when they were injured and never got hurt for stupid things that they were at fault for.
xxxxx
Nightstrike watched in silence as Ratchet dressed down the formerly rowdy crew members and ordered a few of them around to see that the mechs on the floor sporting those dents to the cranial units were taken to their rooms. Primus, he was tired, cranky, and recharge deprived. All he wanted was a nice dark room, a berth, and the quiet presences of his lovers surrounding him. Was that too much to ask?
Deeming that the situation did not require his presence in any way and that Ratchet had it covered, though watching Wheeljack attempt to soothe his irate lover was rather entertaining, Nightstrike turned his attention elsewhere. His lovers as well as Jazz and Prowl were all watching him intently. Obviously they were worried. What Nightstrike had done was really not something he normally would have but his calm could only last so long and he could only be provoked so far.
He raised a hand in silent greeting before leaving the rec-room. The black mech did not need to look behind him to know that his lovers had left the rec-room hurriedly to follow him. They had all been separated for far too long for their liking. You would almost think they were already a bonded set from the relief, happiness, worry, and concern for his well-being Nightstrike could feel coming from his three wonderful lovers.
By the time Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Bluestreak arrived at the Twins' room Nightstrike had already pushed the two berths in the room together so that they could all recharge together for a change. Nightstrike lay toward the middle already half-way into recharge obviously waiting for them.
"What took you three so long? Never mind, just get in the berth. It has been far too long since I've had the pleasure of recharging with any of you around me."
"You don't look like you've had any recharge at all."
"That would be because I haven't Blue. Now don't make me repeat myself."
Their lover looked to be on the verge of stasis lock so they all complied. Bluestreak plastered himself against Nightstrike's back to reassure himself of the visored mech's presence while Sideswipe spooned behind Bluestreak with his arm around Bluestreak's middle so that he could touch both the gunner and the medic. Nightstrike was held very firmly to Sunstreaker's chassis as the golden Lamborghini gently removed the battle-mask Nightstrike wore.
Before drifting into recharge with his now resting lovers Sideswipe left a message with Red Alert about not disturbing any of them. As funny in a terrifying kind of way as what had happened early was, Sideswipe had no wish to see it up close. Especially when he just knew deep in his spark that he would be on the receiving end sooner or later with the wrench being thrown by the Hatchet. So really a warning through the Security Director should be more than enough to keep anyone foolish from tempting the wrath of his medic lover. Though it was relieving to know that Nightstrike would never ever throw a wrench at either Sunstreaker or himself by virtue of being the visored medic's lovers Ratchet the Hatchet had no such restraints. Sideswipe just hated being right about these kind of things.