Hi everyone! I'm not a scientist myself so i wouldn't get too into the scientific stuff I mentioned in here. I used to study minerology so if I were reading this I' try to look up its logic, trust me, don't do that, just imagine that it's a fact that my chemical structures are correct! lol...
I am building up the beginning of the plot right now before i go into any huge character descriptions, I think the base of the story is more important than my OC right now. So once I get that down, we'll move more into the character development. Suggestions are helpful, especially since I'm used to writing smut with NO plot, but I've got this whole story mapped out already, I'm just hoping that this doesn't become boring. :)
Chapter 2 – The Formula
"..but, you need a more advanced coding sequence for your timeology."
"Wait, the physical structure of this can't represent your code, that's why it must contain the mineral Co,Fe2As because it can be sustained in laboratory growth."
"Yes yes, I see...but consider the Y+2Fe structure, if you combine the mixture of 33Fe, 8Ki and the 22Ph lattice, then it might be the one."
"Hmm...I see where you're going with this and yes, since the combination of 33Fe and 45Si90-8 didn't work correctly, perhaps the level of..."
"it's the level of the 34Al.5Rh!"
"Oh my, you're right!"
Ratchet and Skyla stared in awe at the screen in front of them, both generically nodding their heads in agreement.
"Very good, I hope that we can try this new formula out tomorrow and call it a success!" Doctor Hoffmann yelled through the speakers, a very grey sky behind him and wind blowing so hard that the camera in his hand jerked with instability. "I am so proud that the formula is coming to fruition!" Doctor Hoffmann said from the screen, his webcam evidentally bouncing wildly from his hand. The camera was a scrambled access camera that could only be unscrambled by the computer that Ratchet and Skyla sat in front of to make sure no signal could tap in and listen. Optimus peered in from behind them both.
"Very good work, thank you Doctor for listening in on our compilation of codes, I assume we will test these formulas tomorrow and hope for success." Optimus said to the computer, and the Autobot and human. The Doc made a small hand gesture and bowed out of the conversation.
"And I am happy to hear that we will test this tomorrow. When I return in a few days, make a note to save me some celebratory champagne, Skyla I told you that you were my best student! I'm afraid I must end this transmission, the storm is about to hit shore!" The Doc yelled at the phone and the screen finally went black.
Skyla sighed in her chair and threw her arms above her head. "Who would've guessed it would have been such a simple concept of the impurity of the Ir2 mixed with the 34Al.5Rh, it wasn't properly attaching itself to the Ag0 structure..."
"Amazing what a simple adjustment can do, eh" Ratchet calmly said towards her. Skyla nodded and smiled.
"I have a great feeling!" she chided, "Tomorrow will be fruitful, I can just feel it!"
Optimus smiled at her optimism but warned her, "Keep in mind that the experiment will be different in person than on paper, even though it looks like we may have solved the chemical imbalance, the trying time is now, your expertise will be put to the test tomorrow, Skyla." Skyla put her hands back down on her lap in her labcoat and turned her chair to face him.
"I know, Optimus, but I can't help but feel excited that we've even made it this far and now we're about to make the final breakthrough, of course thanks to Ratchet here." She patted his forearm plates gently.
Ratchet's face went hot and he turned his head sideways.
"It was nothing, the puzzle was completed save one piece and we found it is all."
Skyla turned to look at the time. It was 8:46 pm! They had been discussing codes, chemicals and metals for at least six hours straight. Skyla's head finally went dizzy with tiredness when she realized she had just pulled another 14 hour work day.
"You should get some rest, Sky, you will need the energy tomorrow." Ratchet said to her, realizing the tired look in her eyes.
"Thanks, I agree that we're done for the night." Skyla stood up and removed her lab coat and set it on her chair. Underneath her coat she wore a pair of slacks and a button-up top, she was always told by the Doctor to look professional underneath the coat because 'you never know when a press conference will happen'. What an interesting reason, she had always thought. He was a Nobel Prize winner, she wasn't, but she wasn't about to go against his word just because she wanted to still be young and comfortable.
She turned to the Autobots, "Do...um, do you guys know what to do tonight? I don't exactly have quarters for multiple Autobots, just one, at the bay over there, which has the energy to sustain one recharge per night." She pointed to a corner of the cavern where a huge hole was drilled.
"It's no problem Skyla, we're in contact with the base so if we need any reinforcements they will be able to get over quickly, and I don't think any Decepticon will be messing with the lab anytime soon." Optimus said to reassure her. She nodded at him and yawned. "Are you comfortable with travelling home at this hour by yourself?"
Skyla smirked, "Heh, you seem to not know that I've been getting out of here much later than this lately, I'll be fine." Skyla smiled to him and gathered some papers and a bag. He nodded once, looking down to her with his huge blue optics. He humbled her, made her feel weak and dumb. For the last 7 hours since he arrived, she had felt like a sacrificial goat in his presence, and something else pulled at her chest, something she couldn't figure out. Intimidation? Probably. She couldn't help but just feel the presence of his person, it was like driving through the mountains where every turn hugged the body of the car and peaks so far up that one couldn't see them out the normal view of the glass; wherever one turned, they would be greeted with more hills and more trees, not able to shake the closure of the sky free, even when another small switchback would come near and one would hope that heading in another direction would free them from the massive walls of power, still, there they were, unmoving, unending. Looming. Standing strong.
Skyla made her way to the restroom/showering area and changed into her second set of clothes. She rode her bike into work everyday, for a good workout. She returned, with bicycle shorts on and a tank top. She went to a small corner of the cave and grabbed a clean silver and gold road bike. Strapping on her helmet, the Autobots looked to her.
"Skyla," Ratchet said, " You did great work today I can't even fathom how you had the mindset to come up with those formulas." Skyla was pretty impressed herself. She and the doctor had worked together on them even though she and he both knew it was all her idea for the alloy formula, but he had the fame and name to fund the research for it.
She smiled up at him, "Well, we are neighbors now anyway, anything the humans can help with developing now is going to be handled by the professionals."
"Well you are definitely a professional." Ratchet returned the smile, Skyla blushed at his compliment.
"Indeed, you and the Doc have helped us immensely, now, and for the future." Optimus Prime responded. "And we thank you. Tomorrow will hold great ventures in the realm of earth science."
"I agree, until tomorrow!" Skyla jumped on her bike and rode out of the cave, her small paniers bouncing happily over the packed dirt.
Optimus Prime sent a signal to the base, "Ironhide, is everything steady there?"
"Everything checks in, Optimus. No trouble here." Ironhide replied through a transmission.
"Good, the last thing we need is a Decepticon threat at this time. Ratchet and I will stay at the lab overnight just in case anything goes awry, I shall contact you if anything happens and you do the same. The formula is nearly ready."
"Yes, Optimus."
The following day started early. Scientists started to arrive at 7:00 am. There wasn't enough funding for the project to get every team member enough private access cell phones with scrambled signals, so coded email had to be used. Skyla had sent out an email the previous night from a public library to all of the team members that said-
-PANCAKE BREAKFAST 7AM!-
-and that was all.
So as to not give false hope, Skyla had ordered 100 breakfast burritos for the team and brought them to the cave in the morning.
The team of scientists ate happily after hearing the news upon arrival.
"Tell the engineers to fire up the oven and prepare the crucible!" Skyla shouted to the team of metal workers working with them. "We're going to be doing some chemistry!"
Skyla changed out of her cycling clothes fast and put on her lab coat. She tied her hair back in a ponytail and stepped out of the shower room. She was immediately greeted by Optimus Prime, nearly colliding with his great ankle.
"Oh, pardon me, Optimus! Did you and Ratchet stay here all night?" Skyla blushed as she regained her balance and stood blankly looking at his leg.
"Good morning, and yes, we had to, there is no need for careless planning now." Optimus said, putting his massive hands on his robot hips, standing proud and tall. Skyla looked up to his face with a nervous expession.
"No, I suppose not.." her voice said softly, "This is the day..." Skyla felt her chest pull again. He was so huge, she hated the fact that she was supposed to be in charge in the Doc's absence, sometimes she second-guessed herself too much in the science realm but somehow she felt nervously calmed with Optimus around, as if he was there to press her in the right direction. She felt safer with him around. More so than any other Autobot.
"Yes, let's get started immediately." Optimus said to her and turned his body away and walked toward the main area. Skyla couldn't help but just watch him walk away, such poise, such strength. She loved athletic, built men, that's why she had dated Thor on occasion, he was chisled, handsome, Austrian. But he was cocky, funny, but cocky and she figued that he was better off being just a friend rather than a partner. She wasn't bad herself, she had a shapely body, well-toned, a few little fatty deposits like every woman has, but for the most part, she took care of herself. She had to, she wasn't just a sit-around book worm who wrote reports and figured out equations. She was an adventurous problem solver, she liked to be out in the field pouring the iron and not just watching the readings. She liked to dig through the scrap of explosions to find the small piece of alloy they had just experimented on, and she liked getting her hands dirty, even if her nails were painted pink. She was all of it, a girly-tomboy, an athletic-nerd.
"Thor, have we received any transmission from the Doc?" Skyla asked him as soon as she arrived by the experiment tables. Thor turned to her and leaned on a chair.
"No, not since last night vhen you spoke to him, I think we're on our own today." Skyla nodded and responded.
"That's okay, I think we know what we're doing. Go get Yugi and David, I need them to check our quantities of alloy and get the pH meters ready. Also, make sure that everyone in here has goggles on when we do this, the Doc can't afford another liability claim. " Thor nodded quickly and took off on foot, he knew that when Skyla talked so fast, it was going to be an important day.
By 11 am, the team had been briefed on the experiment and the procedure. The engineers were standing by, the chemists were ready with their equipment and the cave was silent. Skyla had Yugi collect the chemicals, minerals and metals needed and they were placed in an area by the crucible. The fire was hot and everyone waited. Ratchet gave a few orders, Skyla gave a few orders, the mixing of the elements had started. The fire burned hot, melting the metal and the minerals together in the container. Every scientist was at their own station waiting for a sample of the new alloy.
"Okay, add the 33Fe at 1700 degrees F." Skyla said, peering at the glowing crucible through her dark goggles, "That needs enough time to heat up without destroying the rest of the formula and when we reach 2750 F the combination of the formula should come together, but the transition needs to be slow."
They were behind a pane of glass, a thick pane of glass. The engineers actually controlled robotic arms to add the ingredients because the risk of explosion was too high. Even though Skyla had confidance that this would work, excersicing saftey was never a bad thing.
"How many panels did you say this would make?" Optimus asked Skyla.
"About 12 106cm x106cm panels, enough for the team to test afterwords and then we have the suppliers notified of future orders already. The biggest order is for Silica and Iron, and I've got that covered already." Skyla smirked at her own preparedness.
"Very good, you impress me, Skyla. While your technical knowledge is marginal compared to the Doctor's, your organization structure is leaps beyond his." Optimus slightly smiled at his own remark and Skyla chuckled a bit herself.
"Yeah, he can be a bit scatterbrained at times, but that's what makes him a genius." Skyla said as she motioned for the next step in the ingredient adding process to commence. The process was almost complete, two more ingredients and then, victory.
"Stability element..." Skyla said as the Co,Fe2As solution was added to the mixture, "And now just one more..." Skyla held onto the railing in front of her tightly, the team standing behind her, waiting.
"The remaining part..." Ratchet nearly whispered. The synthetic element, drawn directly from the Autobot's metal plates themselves was added, and if the formula was correct, the addition of the ingredient was to react with the others and reproduce a structure similar, like adding a concentrated drop of food coloring to icing and watching it spread. It was added.
"By the light... there was no explosion, no instability, no overflow, quickly, make those panels!" Ratchet said after a few minutes of watching the bubbling crucible.
"You heard what he said!" Skyla yelled towards the engineers, "make it flat!" The mixture was quickly poured into molds before it could harden off the fire and there erupted a wave of infectious cheering throughout the scientific teams.
"Well, it looks promising," Optimus Prime said, "I will alert the Autobots at the base that Ratchet and I will be accompanying your team for the next few days while you test the alloy's structure, but I believe your hard work has come to fruition today." Skyla bit her bottom lip with excitement, they had done it, potentially, a few tests needed to be run before it was to be confirmed.
"Thanks Optimus, yours and Ratchet's presence here is needed, for multiple reasons."
They watched the alloy cool in the molds, the glow dimming as the temperature dropped. Yugi found Skyla through the crowd. "Skyla, I estimate that the tempurature of the alloy will be cool enough to handle in 2.5 hours with the hydro-cooling equipment."
"Good, that gives us enough time to grab some lunch and return to our tables for testing. Inform the team to take five." Yugi nodded and turned away.
"Well, now's the waiting period," Ratchet said to Optimus, "shall I transmit the final formula to base yet?"
Optimus thought long and hard, "I don't think so, Ratchet. It's too dangerous to expose the alloy just yet, we will need to keep the formula here for now until we are certain about the safety of its transport." Optimus tapped a signal to base again, "Ironhide, what is the status of the base?"
"We have had a few communication interruptions, but nothing notable. Those 'cons are disrupting random signals but they haven't broken through anything yet. Perceptor's scrambler will keep them guessing for a while."
"Hmm they know we're up to something, as long as we can keep them from finding it out, we will be okay. If for some reason they advance in their scheme, alert me as soon as possible and get the Autobots to the laboratory, that's where we will need the backup."
"No problem, Optimus. I will brief the others."
