Chapter 2: At First Sight: Knockout
Knockout finished his work and cleaning up his tools. He was also contemplating his next move. The war was weighing on him and the fact that it seemed to go on without end. Both sides promised that they would end it quickly and it wasn't happening. He was nervous that soon they would fight themselves into extinction. He hoped he could end that. That was part of the reason he was a medic. The other was so that he could have a chance to feel that he really wasn't part of the caste system that initially brought on the war in the first place. He met all types of mechs and found all sorts of waxes and polishes. He was able to keep up appearances.
Today Knockout had been working in the Decepticon camps. Maybe tomorrow he would find the Autobots, or perhaps he would stick around with the Cons for a few more days. He had yet to decide. Knockout hated seeing perfectly good, completely functioning things and bots turned to scrap. He especially hated the fact that he could easily become one of those bots, or worse have his finish scratched up beyond repair. That was why he decided to remain neutral and serve both sides as a medic. It gave him the perfect excuse to stay off the front lines, besides he knew his limitations. If he couldn't run he would have problems.
The job was good for him. It was busy and satisfied the curiosity he had from the time he was a sparkling. He was good at taking things apart and rebuilding them. The only thing he found he really lacked was compassion. He did what he was supposed to and followed the book for pain management but that was really it. He tried to keep himself detached after the war began and people he had compassion on died. He found that his new philosophy. He learned to detach himself from pain and remind himself above all he was a scientist.
It was a philosophy that worked far better with the Decepticons than Autobots. The Decepticons, for example, had no problem cannibalizing the dead for spare parts especially in triage facilities on the battlefield. He too shared concerns in doing it in the hospitals, before many of them fell, but on the battlefield it was all survival. The Autobots waited for those who were hurt beyond repair to die before using the parts insisting on making them comfortable in the last minutes. The cons however had a different mercy. They ended the pain quickly and used uninjured parts for those who had a chance of living, so they could fight again. He couldn't let his processor dwell on that reality. He had to make a living after all. It usually meant more work so more credits in the end for him.
"Knockout, What are you doing? Get back in here I need you!"
"I'm coming Scalpel!" He answered the old surgeon in charge of this particular unit. He handed him the PADDS he was working on.
"I know you were supposed to be off three breems ago but we have incoming. Supposedly there were a couple of small skirmishes outside Praxus. I guess Megatron decided to stick his pede in the quicksilver before jumping in full force. When the city falls there will be plenty of work. Let's take care of these injuries and set up for more. I think drones would have been a better option than actual scouts but what do I know? I'm a surgeon not a warrior."
"Mmmhmm" Knockout responded before the first wave came in. Knockout quickly set up his triage quickly patched up the mesh wounds. There were enough of those alone he would have made a fortune in the private sector. Many seemed as obsessed about looks as he did. "I can't buff it now; clearly there are ones who will offline soon. Buff yourself!" He told them sending them away. He took the code yellow sending the reds to Scalpel.
"Take care of that one for me, Knockout. He is level 4, code black; I need a pump over here." Scalpel called out.
Knockout saw the unconscious mech whose helm was almost completely smashed. "How is he still venting?" Knockout asked himself scanning seeing only a faint spark signature. "Impossible" he thought. He transformed his arm into his saw and was about to end this one's life. He hesitated and turned off his pain receptors, just in case.
"Hurry Knockout before the energon decays. I need those parts."
Knockout did as he was told and for some reason this time he was almost troubled by it. "Detach yourself, Knockout" he silently reminded himself. He's offline already. He finished up in a blur and noticed the sun was already beginning to set. He was going to end the day with Decepticon 'mercy' on his spark, and he decided that the next day he would spend in the Autobot camps. Their incredible over the top soft sparks would help him regain his pull on reality. "Yes," He thought," working both sides keeps me rich, and sane."
He cleaned the energon off his arms and hands and was about to wax his arms when a booming voice called, "hey pretty mech!" Knockout knew they were addressing him when he saw another large mech leaning into him and leaving a trail of energon behind. "Great, not again! Primus, why do you hate me? Can I have at least a klick between 'customers?" At least this one was walking. At least Primus didn't hate him completely.
"Hey pretty mech, are you a medic or not? I, we need you over here, now!"
Knockout casually approached them. It was an ugly wound but it would be an easy repair. He scanned the mech. Energon reserves at 73% He wouldn't bleed out anytime soon. "What happened to you? Been in the arena again?" Knockout was tired and suddenly snarky.
"No, haven't you heard? Before the war there was a new champion who was unstoppable, now real fighting has replaced the sport. Mechs do get hurt in honest ways doctor!"
"I suppose so." He answered attempting to concentrate
"Can you fix it or not?" The larger mech asked
"Of course. It isn't as bad as it looks. Fortunately for you your armor is so thick and it didn't pierce your spark chamber. You may want to disable your pain receptors though". He said addressing his patient now." It may burn a bit and I have no pain killers on me. Designation is Knockout by the way."
"Breakdown," He answered, "and that won't be necessary."
Knockout shook his helm the big ones were gluttons for pain in an attempt to prove themselves or something. He opened the undamaged chest plate so he could get a better look at the entry point of the debris. He sealed the torn wires and small energon veins around the wound and pulled out the metal. He quickly sealed of the main vein as another gush of energon ran down his arms. "You will want to refuel as soon as you leave but you'll recover. Again not as bad as it looks. It is a glorified splinter" Knockout closed the chest plate and got some put metal over the wound to serve as a bandage until his self repair systems could fix the minor injuries. "Anything else? You seem to have had recent nervous damage to your hip as you have been limping. It might affect your ability to transform properly."
"I am okay" Breakdown answered and was about to attempt to transform.
"Fix it!" the larger mech all but ordered. "My soldiers will be in perfect order."
Knockout did the minor repairs and pulled out the buffer that he had recently used on himself.
"You can put that away. I am not fembot! I don't mind scars."
"Understood, but I have a reputation for body work. What would others think if you looked slagged? I don't do messy work."
"What would they think of a shiny wrecker? Fine just the one if you must."
Knockout's optics shown a shade brighter. "Sure thing Breakdown."
"Thanks" the large mech whispered.
"You can make it up to me at some point." Knockout commed back. He watched them roll off. The encounter intrigued him. He was definitely in a better mood having actually got to make a repair but it wasn't just because he was ending the day on a save. There was something about that mech that made his sparks rhythm change. He was also interested in the apparently relationship between the bot and his commander, if that was the right word. They usually didn't care that much about their soldiers. He had some research left to do. He decided to stay with the cons a little bit longer after all.
A/N Thanks Giddy for pointing out my mistake in the last chapter. Transformers isn't mine.