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Patient ID: #LLCMC-75

Name: First Aid

Function: Field Medic

Session No: 32

Rung sat back from the terminal at his desk next to the viewport, the inky blackness of space visible outside. An orange mechanoid with a slender frame and thin face, his most marked features were his green eyes and large "eyebrows", as Swerve liked to call them.

'So...how are you feeling?' Rung asked, looking across at First Aid. A red and white mech with red crosses on his shoulders, he was sitting opposite his desk with his hands clasped in front of him.

'...fine...'

'...okay,' Rung said. 'Rodimus and Ultra Magnus wanted me to debrief you after...what happened...'

'I've already submitted my report...' First Aid said, without looking up at him.

'I know,' Rung said. 'I've read it. It's less than a page long...'

'...so...?'

'So...you're four days overdue for your return from Shojezuno. According to Rodimus, you were in a state of shock when he found you...'

'It's been...a rough few days...' First Aid said and Rung nodded.

'Why don't you start at the beginning...?'

'I...was coming back from Shojezuno with the medical supplies when I came under attack by a star cruiser. I tried to evade them, but their lasers disabled my engines and they locked a tractor beam on my shuttle, drawing it into their hanger...'

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First Aid drew his laser pistol as he felt the shuttle settle onto the hanger. Nothing happened for a moment and then the hatchway blew in with a dull thump that overloaded his audio receptors for a second. Even before the smoke had cleared, four battered mechanoids charged through and First Aid opened fire. His laser blast punched through the visor of the lead mech before the others bore him to the ground, his pistol clattering away. He struggled against them as he was hauled to his feet and dragged outside, being forced to his knees in front of a white and green mech with a domed, visored helmet and anti-grav generators on his shoulders.

'He's the only one onboard, Wire,' one of the Mechs grated. 'He killed Mangle. What d'you want us to do with him...?'

'What's your name?' Wire asked, his voice as raspy as the other mech's.

'That's a bad case of vocoder degradation you've got there,' First Aid said. 'You guys obviously don't have a very good health plan...'

'Name,' Wire repeated, his fist striking First Aid on the jaw and he would have been knocked backwards if the other mechs hadn't been restraining him.

'First Aid,' he said, raising his head to meet his gaze. 'I'm an Autobot...'

'Can you fight...?' Wire asked.

'I'm a medic...' First Aid replied.

'Bring him,' Wire said, the other mechs dragging him to his feet...

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'What did they want?' Rung asked and First Aid hesitated before answering.

'They...ran a fighting pit on their ship...'

'And...they forced you to fight...?'

'No. It was...worse than that...'

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'In!' Wire said, shoving First Aid through the door into the dingy room, the only light coming from the barred and grilled windows at the other end. 'Don't get too comfortable...'

'Why? What's going to happen...?'

'You'll find out,' Wire said, just as a loud klaxon sounded, followed by the grating of metal. Turning his back on Wire, who was smirking, First Aid crossed to the barred windows. Outside was a crude, high-walled pit with a pitted metal floor, the stands above filled with a mechs and organics, as well as lifeforms that he couldn't identify. At the ends of the pit, two metal hatches were opening, the source of the grinding noise that he had heard. From one hatch emerged a grey skinned humanoid barely half as tall as First Aid, carrying a shield and an energy sword. From the other came a black and orange mechanoid bearing a crude metal club. Larger and more angular than Cybertronians, he moved with a mechanical clunkiness. The hatches ground shut as the organic and the mech advanced, their weapons raised, and the mech struck. He swung his club overhead in a double-handed strike, but the humanoid dodged aside, the blow striking the floor with a reverberating clang. Before the mech could attack again, the humanoid danced forward, his sword slashing out to sever the servos of his right leg. He cried out in pain and stumbled forward as the humanoid leapt, driving the sword through his chest. His scream was almost drowned out by the roar of the crowd as he pitched forward, the light fading from his eyes.

'Looks like you won't be needed this time,' Wire said as the humanoid turned his back and walked away, while several other mechs entered the pit and dragged the body away. The klaxon sounded again and another mech entered. Sleeker, with a silver and blue body, he was carrying a large Gatling cannon. The door opposite him ground open again and First Aid's eyes widened at what he saw. It was a large burning creature that walked on all fours, the floor charring beneath it's feet. As it moved, First Aid thought he could catch flickers of reptilian features, but he couldn't be sure if that was just the wavering of the flames. Activating his thermal sensors, he saw that the creature was burning at over 1000*c. The mech's eyes widened and he raised his Gatling cannon, unleashing a hail of bullets towards the creature. However, the bullets simply melted before they could do any damage. With a roar, the creature released a burst of flame towards the mech, who threw himself sideways. However, he wasn't fast enough. As he hit the ground, First Aid saw that his Gatling gun had been melted, along with his hand. He scrambled back to his feet, but the creature sprang and bore him to the ground. Even from this distance, First Aid could see his armour beginning to bubble and melt, wincing at his scream of pain.

'Get it off him,' he yelled, turning to Wire, who merely folded his arms over his chest. First Aid turned back to the pit as more mechs poured in, carrying portable fire fighting equipment. Using bursts of foam, they drove the creature back through the hatchway, as others carried the injured mech towards First Aid. Another hatch in the wall ground open and they dumped him on the floor where he lay, groaning in pain.

'Hold on,' First Aid said, dropping to his knees beside him and activating his diagnostic scanners. 'You're going to be okay,' he said. 'It's only superficial damage. I'm going to shut down your receptors until your CR systems can neutralise the heat...'

He extended his medical tool from his finger and inserted it into the port on his neck.

'There. There's not much that I can do for your hand, though...'

The mech said nothing, just getting to his feet and lumbering from the room.

'Come on,' Wire said. 'Fun's over...'

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'What happened to the mech you treated,' Rung asked and First Aid looked down at his hands.

'...I don't know,' he said. 'I never saw him again...'

'What happened next?' Rung asked.

'They showed me to my..."accommodation..."

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'In!' Wire said and First Aid was shoved through the doorway, the hatch slamming shut behind him. As his optics adjusted to the low light, he saw that he wasn't alone, with three other mechs lying on recharge slabs. One was black and grey with fins on his shoulders, the second was an orange female-styled mech with a dented chest plate, while the third was short and stocky with a missing optic and treads on his arms.

'Hey,' the finned mech said, sitting forward with a grin. 'I'm Chase. This is Snap,' he added, glancing at the female-styled mech, 'and Blunt. You can have the recharge slab over there. The energon is nasty, but it keeps you going through the day...'

A klaxon sounded and he grimaced.

'Well, that means light's out. Come on. Best to get it over with...'

Hesitantly, First Aid climbed onto the recharge slab, feeling his systems being forcibly shut down...

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any comments, reviews or constructive criticism very welcome.