Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.
Desperate Measures
Chapter Three: Scientifically Sound
"Are you sure about this, Prime?" Trailbreaker asked, looking around the area with a decidedly dubious look on his face. He wasn't one for impulsive actions. Since the post had been promised to Perceptor, he should be the one to get it. As good a medic as Ratchet was, Trailbreaker didn't want to take the risk including some inept, absent minded scientist as their engineer. After all, they didn't know how long they would be in space; they didn't want the ship breaking down with no way to fix it.
"I know what you're thinking, Trailbreaker," Prime said, keeping his gaze ahead. "But I'm only meeting with him. If I don't think he's suitable, I won't use him, Ratchet or no Ratchet."
Ironhide seemed ready to protest.
"However," Prime quickly added, "if this Wheeljack is capable of performing the job, then… I'm afraid Perceptor will have to stay behind. But only if he's right for the job," he said, emphasising the point to Ironhide.
Trailbreaker frowned. While Prime's reasoning was sound, he had a habit of letting sentimentality influence his judgement. He wouldn't consider it out of character for Prime to accept Wheeljack even if he wasn't up to snuff.
Optimus, meanwhile, was trying to ignore the smell that was gradually assaulting his olfactory sensors. He tried to hide his grimace as he glanced at both Ironhide and Trailbreaker, neither of which seemed to have noticed.
"Can either of you two…?"
They both looked at him curiously, as though nothing were wrong.
"…never mind."
They continued walking.
Suddenly, Ironhide scowled and waved a hand in front of his face. "Ah, for the love of- what in the name of Primus is that smell?"
Trailbreaker frowned. "What s- oh! Primus, that's disgusting!"
As they went deeper and deeper into sector 24 searching for Wheeljacks' lab, the smell only got stronger.
The sound of an explosion filled the air, and the trio looked up to see a bright, luminescent green cloud burst forth from one of the buildings.
"Ah. That must be one of the 'funny coloured explosions' that Ratchet was referring to."
They headed in the direction of the explosion. To Ironhide's increasingly vocal horror, the smell was becoming stronger the closer they came to the lab.
A loud clanging noise could be heard through the dome shaped metal lab, the noise continuously echoing out through the corridors.
Optimus reached out and pressed the door chime button.
No response.
He pushed the button again.
And again, no response.
The Autobot leader looked from Ironhide to Trailbreaker, and then back to the door. With a shrug, he reached out and knocked on the door.
And that's when it blew off its' hinges.
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Starscream irritably threw the datapad away, letting it fall off the edge of the desk. Since Megatron had gone away to Polyhex and Shockwave was still at Vos leading the excavation, he was in charge, and everyone was coming to him with their little niggles and problems.
Who would have thought power could be so boring?
He pushed himself up from the desk and looked out the window of his office, surveying the Decepticon capital of Kaon. Several transports had arrived from the battle at Polyhex with wounded, but nothing serious. There was one, however, that seemed of utmost importance, but he hadn't been able to see.
Something was strange about the whole situation, though. Decepticons were telling him they had won the battle. If that was true, where was Megatron? And if he had been killed in battle, why hadn't he been informed?
He growled in frustration.
After one more distasteful glance at the reports scattered across his desk, Starscream decided to head down to the med bay and find out just what was going on.
He passed by several Decepticons on the way down, offering no more than a nod or a curt statement of their name if he knew them, like Thundercracker and Skywarp.
Astrotrain came around the corner, his head down as he walked the corridor. Starscream cocked an optic ridge.
"Astrotrain. Just the Decepticon I was looking for."
"What?" he snapped, looking the seeker directly in the optic.
He wasn't particularly affected by the sudden display of emotion. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to Megatron at Polyhex, would you?"
The triple changer didn't reply for the shortest of moments. And then;
"If you want information, go down to the med bay and ask him yourself." He smirked grimly. "If he's able to talk, that is."
The purple and grey mech continued on his way. Starscream watched him go, wondering just what had happened to the Decepticon leader.
He set off at a slightly quicker pace.
A few minutes later, he burst through the doors of the med bay, having increased his pace to a full on sprint as his curiosity had slowly overcome him.
There, lying on an operation table with the Constructicons working feverishly around him, was Megatron, his optics flickering in and out of stasis lock.
"What happened?" Starscream asked, strangely finding that the sight gave him more confidence, rather than less.
Scrapper turned to look at him before quickly getting back to his patient. "He channelled a black hole to take down Omega Supreme."
The seeker smirked. "Isn't that Devastator's job?"
They didn't reply.
"Will he survive?" There was no hint of emotion in his voice, and that surprised Starscream too.
"Yes, but only if we can operate without distraction. So get out of my O.R!"
His smirk only intensifying, Starscream turned and left the room. Slowly, he had made his way to the command center to talk to whichever communications officer was on duty.
He didn't realise how much he liked being in charge until he saw Megatron on the operation table. It meant that, Shockwave aside, he was in command. He was the leader of the Decepticons.
And he liked it.
The doors to the command center slid open as he reached them, and he saw the three Reflectors working at the communication station.
"Starscream," they said in unison. "Should we contact Shockwave and tell him to return?"
Starscream thought on the matter for a moment. Then, he looked over at the command chair that overlooked the room. Slowly, he made his way up and sat down, enjoying the power that accompanied the action. It was a comfortable chair. It seemed to mould itself to his body, as thought it were… made for him.
Made for him. He liked that.
"There's no hurry."
"Sir?"
"I am more than capable of taking care of things in Megatron's… absence." He leant forward, looking at the holo-map that was suspended above them all in the top right hand corner of the room.
"And the first order of business… is a city called Uraya."
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Using quick reflexes, Ironhide pulled Optimus aside as the heavy metal door exploded of its' hinges, skidding across the ground before grinding to a halt.
"Um… thank you," Optimus said, looking slightly humbled by the fact that he had almost been killed not by Megatron, not by Shockwave, but by a door.
Trailbreaker cautiously peeked inside, checking for any signs of life.
"Hmm," an absent minded voice emerged, "that's not right. Maybe if I decreased the matter gain rather than increased…"
Optimus made his way into the doorway, and nodded his head to indicate that the others should follow before going completely into the lab.
Somewhat reluctantly, they both complied.
Wheeljack himself was working away on something on the table in front of him, sparks flying in every direction as he used a laser welder, quietly murmuring to himself about different settings.
Optimus cleared his vocal unit, and waited for a response.
The engineer continued his work.
Prime looked to Ironhide, who just shrugged. Trailbreaker seemed equally clueless. Optimus sighed.
"Excuse me."
Wheeljack still didn't respond. After straightening his back slightly, Optimus walked over to the scientist and put a hand on his shoulder. He yelped loudly, sending the laser welder spinning wildly into the air. He juggled the tool as he struggled to catch it.
Optimus snatched it from Wheeljack's fumbling grasp and handed it back to him. Cautiously looking over Optimus and his companions, he slowly took the welder.
"Thanks."
"My pleasure."
He paused for a moment. "Can I help you with something?" he asked, neural diodes flashing with every word.
"Would you happen to be Wheeljack?"
"…yes…"
Optimus nodded. "Very well. I am Optimus Prime."
"Ah… so you're the mech who's supposed to be our saviour. Nice to meet ya," he said happily.
"Um… yes." Prime was a little put out at the almost bi-polar change. "I have been… asked… by the Autobot Council to lead a team of Autobots on a mission into outer space."
Ironhide let out a guffaw at Prime's use of the word 'asked'.
"For Energon, right?"
"I can't say."
"You don't get to be an inventor without knowing when your supplies are running low," he continued, as though Optimus had never said anything. "And? What can I do for you?"
"You have been recommended to us for the post of engineer."
"Ratchet, right?"
"Excuse me?"
Wheeljack turned back to his laser welding. "It was Ratchet who told you to ask me."
"I-"
"He thinks I spend too much time in the lab, right?"
"Well-"
"That I'm cut off from the rest of the world, right?"
"You-"
"Right?"
Optimus sighed. "Right."
Wheeljack paused, and turned around to look at him. "Look, it was nice of you to ask, but I'm really not interested. I bet you don't even want me for this mission. In fact, I bet you've already got an engineer lined up."
The Autobot leader paused. "Perceptor."
"See? And he'll be great for the post. Much better than I could do."
Optimus looked around the room. "Well, that may be, but-" he paused as he saw a holo-diagram on the wall. He walked over to it, fascinated. Pointing a finger at the diagram, he turned back to Wheeljack. "Did you do this?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. But when I suggest it to the Council, they say they're too busy. So, I put it on the back burner. Every now and again I'll ask them if they're not busy, but… you get the point."
Prime summoned over Trailbreaker with a small gesture. "If I'm right… doesn't this increase-?"
The black Autobot nodded. "You're right…" he almost gasped, amazed. "This Energon transference rate is more efficient than anything I've seen… this would take up half as much Energon if it was implemented properly."
Optimus turned back to their would-be recruit. "Wheeljack… would you be able to apply this technique to, say… spaceship engines?"
He mused over it for a moment, and then scratched his chin. "I suppose… if I increased the size of the displacement field and implemented a harmonic reflux at the point of…" His optics widened with the possibilities, and he raced over to another diagram board, scribbling away diligently.
Ironhide looked over at Optimus confusedly. The Autobot leader just gave him a knowing smile.
Wheeljack turned back to them excitedly. "Do you know how great this ship would be? It could go for… I don't know how long!"
Optimus nodded slowly. "What would you say," he said, his hands behind his back, "if said that you would be in charge of designing and constructing the engines of the ship?"
"… and I would have full control of the project?"
"Full control."
"No outside influences?"
"None whatsoever."
He thought only for a moment before responding.
"You've got yourself an engineer."
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Ironhide looked over at Optimus as they walked away from Wheeljack's lab (which they had learned he called his 'workshop'), slightly confused at the turn of events.
"Prime, what just happened in there?"
"From what I know of Energon conservation methods, what was on that diagram was genius. I couldn't pass up the chance to have him on my crew."
Ironhide glanced at Trailbreaker before looking back at Prime. "What about Perceptor?"
Optimus was silent for a moment. "I'll explain it to Perceptor."
"Prime, ah-"
"Ironhide, I want him on the team. And with him, we get Ratchet as well, a candidate I seem to remember you being quite adamant about. End of discussion." He continued on his way.
A snarl almost made it past Ironhide's lip components as he reached out and grabbed Optimus by the shoulder, turning him around. "No, not end of discussion, dammit! We're both recruitin' this crew, remember? Now, ah know you're used to bein' the man in charge, but his ain't gonna be no military mission!"
Optimus turned to face him fully, shock written on his features. He had gotten used to Autobots blindly agreeing with him and following his orders. It was a strange feeling to be argued with by one of his own again.
Ironhide removed his hand.
"Look," he continued, softer this time, "ah know this is weird for ya, but you're gonna be like the captain of a crew. You're gonna have to keep a tight circle of other Autobots around ya to keep things runnin' smoothly. I'll let ya have Wheeljack, but…" He smiled wryly. "Ya can't fly solo no more, Prime."
A small smile appeared beneath the Autobot leader's faceplate at that.
Trailbreaker cleared his vocal processor. "So… where to now?"
Prime seemed to lighten considerably. Which was to say, not much. "I'm not sure." He looked at his security officer. "Ironhide? What next?"
"Um… let's see…" he said, pulling the datapad out of subspace. "Oh, yeah. Ah was thinkin'… while ah know we're keepin' this thing all hush-hush from the Decepticons, ah think it'd be a good idea to prepare. Y'know, just in case they did get wind of it and decided to come after us."
Optimus cocked an optic ridge. "What did you have in mind?"
"First of all, a saboteur. Someone who can get in and out without anyone noticin', but still cause all kinds a' hell."
He nodded. "I see. Do you have any suggestions?"
Ironhide shrugged and put up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I'm all out on this one."
The black Autobot beside him stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then brought up a finger. "Say… I think I might know just the place to go…"
With a grand sweeping gesture, Ironhide indicated for Trailbreaker to go ahead of him.
"Lead on."
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(A/N: Anyone who knows their Ark crew should know who's coming up next. And who after that, at a stretch. Just think about what Ironhide said about preparing for the Decepticons… who would be best for fighting off unwelcome 'Cons?
Hmm… ; )
Anyway, review!)