Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, I don't make any profit from this.

The recruit, chapter 3


A Prime.

There had not been a Prime for vorns, not since Sentinel Prime's death and the disappearance of the Matrix. And yet here he was, and somehow it fit with what Magnus felt when he looked at him.

It was a new assignation, he gathered even as they told him the story, which explained his discomfort with his own designation. Then Ironhide explained that Optimus was starting his own faction to protect Cybertron.

"Protect against what?"

"The Decepticons." Elita said quietly.

"But they're leaving."

Optimus shook his head.

"Megatron has never said they will be leaving Cybertron, he has only allowed everyone to believe what they chose. All he said was that he was going to lead them to a new future. From the information Kup has given us, the rest of us are an expendable hinderance to that future."

"That's right, kid; I've defected." Kup grimaced. Right now I'm on a hit list because I didn't stick with them - didn't like what I was hearing, didn't like it one bit. Just a shame I didn't get here before the move on Ordan Helix."

"Then you know what's going on there?" Magnus asked. "I came past there. The whole place is quarantined, and there's lots of smoke."

Elita-1 shuddered, hugging herself, and Optimus put an arm around her.

"There is no virus, and no quarantine. The Decepticons have gone there to recruit medics, and anyone who won't join willingly will be scrapped."

"Scrapped? You mean...?"

"Deactivated." Kup nodded grimly. "That's what made me run in the end. Bad enough what I'd been hearing already, but the plans for Ordan Helix froze my circuits."

"But... but why? That's where most of the medics are..."

"All of them." Ironhide spat. "They did some clever talking and got every medic back there. Every slagging one of them on Cybertron, and most of'em from the rest of the sector too. Which means when they attack we won't have anyone around to do any repairs."

"No, that's not right." Magnus began.

"Exactly." Kup spoke over him. "They're mad, the lot of them. Megatron promises them endless supplies of energon and personal slaves and anything else they could want, and they stop thinking about what they're going to be doing to get it."

"No, I mean, he didn't get all of them."

They all fell silent and stared at him.

"What?" Ironhide asked blankly.

"The medics. Two of them escaped. They're here in Iacon."


The lights were off and the doors locked when they all arrived at the clinic. Given that that was how it had been when he arrived here with Hoist and Grapple Magnus was not initially concerned. But after knocking on the door and calling out for almost a breem with no response, it began to look hopeless.

"I don't understand. Where would they have gone? Ratchet was unsteady on his pedes!"

"Someone must have seen you all come in here." Ironhide grimaced. "Probably waited for you to leave, then..."

Magnus turned away sharply, not wanting to hear the rest.

Things like this did not happen in real life - that was just stories of the war. In reality, mechs did not get murdered. Especially not in Iacon, home to the High Council, the military High Command and the original base of the Enforcers.

"Maybe they've moved on." Elita-1 suggested kindly.

"He just said the medic couldn't walk." Kup reminded her.

"Yes, but maybe..." Magnus floundered, embarrassed and unsure what to do.

A voice from above saved him.

"Magnus? Is that you?"

"Fuselink! Thank Primus! Where's Ratchet, is he okay?"

Fuselink looked uneasily at the others from the window where he was leaning out.

"He's in recharge. He told me to turn off all the lights and lock the doors and not let anyone in except for you if you came back. You were gone for a long time."

"Sorry. Look, these guys can be trusted - just open the door."

Fuselink shook his head.

"He said no-one but you."

"But if he trusts Magnus, wouldn't he trust Magnus to know who was friendly?" Elita-1 reasoned.

Fuselink looked unconvinced.

"I don't know. He didn't say that."

"But..."

"Magnus." Optimus interrupted him gently. "We'll wait out here. Go and talk to Ratchet - we need to get moving soon. Kup. Ironhide. Elita. Come with me."

He led them away, out of sight, and Magnus sighed in relief as Fuselink opened the door.

"Thank you."

Hurrying down the corridor, a little disconcerted by the dark, he found his way back to the room where he had left Ratchet. The medic was lying on the repair berth where he had been treating Hoist, but there was no sign of the injured construction mech. Scraps of wires and smears of fluid marked various tools on the trolley nearby were the only signs anyone else had been here at all.

"Ratchet? Wake up, please? I know you probably need more rest, but you've got to wake up now - I need to talk to you."

Ratchet's optics flickered, glowing faintly blue as he roused then more strongly so as he focused.

"So. You're back."

"Where're Hoist and Grapple?"

"Please tell me you didn't wake me just to find that out." Ratchet grumbled. "It's been a very, very long few orns and I might just have to hit you with something."

"No. I mean, there's things going on. We've got to get out of here. This place isn't safe."

Ratchet looked at him dubiously.

"It's a clinic, of course it's safe."

"No, there's... oh, look it'll be better if you hear it from them. I'll probably just muck it up. Can you tell Fuselink to let the others in?"

"What others? Not more patients, I hope."

"No, they're friends. They know about what's going on at Ordan Helix."

Ratchet stared at him for a moment, then waved a hand.

"Fuselink, go and get his friends, then lock the door again and wait in the corridor while we talk. Tell me if anyone else arrives."

The medic sat up carefully, his joints clearly stiff, and eased himself off the berth. Magnus reached out to lend a hand, but quickly backed off at a growl and glare, and settled for watching the doorway until the others entered.

"May I introduce Ratchet. Ratchet, this is Kup, Elita-1, Ironhide, and Optimus Prime."

Ratchet started at the final name, whatever retort he had been preparing dying before it could be spoken.

"It's a real pleasure to find you here, medic." Optimus nodded. "I had believed the Decepticons had been completely successful in their ploy."

Ratchet said nothing in response and there was a short uncomfortable silence before the Prime spoke again.

"Magnus has not explained?"

"I thought you should, sir."

"I see." Optimus paused. "Perhaps you should prepare yourself for a shock. What I have to say is unpleasant."

"Then I don't want to hear it." Ratchet interrupted sharply. "You say you're a Prime? I haven't heard the High Council proclaiming the Matrix has been found. But whatever, go back to your temple and give a sermon. Whatever's going on, I don't want any part of it. I'm just waiting for the quarantine to be lifted on Ordan Helix then I'm going home. End of story."

"You can't go back." Kup told him. "The Decepticons..."

"Are there, I know, that's why I ended up out here." Ratchet railed. "You want to talk about unpleasant? Unpleasant is having a building fall on you in a dead zone. Unpleasant is having to drag yourself onwards for joors only to find some paranoid moron has closed the gate so you can't get home. Unpleasant is having to rebuild your own circuitry because there's no other medics around to do it. You've got something worse than that? Sure, go ahead. Tell me. Otherwise leave me alone."

Magnus tried to catch a glimpse of the Prime's expression without being caught looking, embarrassed by the medic's outburst. Ratchet seemed to have good cause to be upset, but this was a Prime.

Optimus did not appear annoyed, though. Instead he stepped forward and put a hand on Ratchet's shoulder.

"It's true, I cannot know what your experience has been like. But I fear that in the orns to come, others will come to understand all too well. My friend, we do need your help. Cybertron is in great peril, and most of the population does not understand how dangerous things are right now. Megatron and his Decepticons represent the greatest threat to our race's stability since the early wars."

Ratchet stirred, frowning, but said nothing and Optimus continued.

"You may believe that your presence here now is a coincidence, or an accident, but I choose to see it as destiny. Megatron intends to start a war of acquisition. He intends to destroy the society we all know and replace the High Council with himself as Supreme Overlord."

"How can you know that?" Ratchet grumbled. "Has he told you?"

A good question, and one that Magnus had not thought to ask. Not that he would have dared be so rude even if it had occurred to him.

"I know." Optimus said simply.

Ratchet folded his arms across his chest, considering for a long moment, then grunted.

"So what's this got to do with the quarantine at Ordan Helix?"

"Megatron's eliminating resistance." Kup began to explain. "It's hard to believe, I know, but the plan was..."

"To kill us all." Ratchet interrupted flatly, turning away and fiddling with some of the instruments.

"How do you know?" Kup asked, surprised.

"Not hard to guess, given how serious you all are. Besides, some friends tried to warn me and I didn't listen, but I've heard the rumours and..." He broke off abruptly, waving a hand towards Magnus. "Anyway, the mechs he brought in both had soot in their intakes. A basic analysis told me what was being burned. I thought it must be victims of the virus, but you're saying it's murder instead. Well, dead is dead, but what I don't know is why. Why are they doing this? What purpose does it serve?"

"Megatron intends to take control of Cybertron, and enslave everyone who will not convert to his side." Optimus responded. "Which does not truly explain why, but it's a beginning. His plan as I know it so far is devastatingly simple."

"No medics, no repairs." Ratchet muttered, staring at the floor, his hands forming fists. "Drabble and Longsider were right after all."

"Who?" Ironhide asked.

Ratchet gave no response and Magnus shrugged when the others looked to him. He did not really know Ratchet, after all. In fact, he was wondering whether the mech was sane. If he had found out Tinwhistle and his other friends at Odera had been hurt he would be a complete wreck.

Ratchet finally looked up, gazing directly at Optimus and ignoring everyone else.

"You know what's going on. What're you planning to do about it?"

"Fight back."

"How? With what? Or do you have a small army hidden away somewhere they won't know about?"

"In a way. I've begun forming a resistance group. The Autobots. Your help would be..."

Ratchet waved a hand irritably.

"That's a given, but it won't do you much good against military mechs. Do you have weapons?"

"Some. We're stockpiling, and we've got some helpers making us extras."

"What about upgrades? Customised armour? In-built weaponry?"

The Prime shook his head.

"We haven't gotten that far."

"Then it's time you did. I can help with that, I've got the specs right to hand as it happens, but I want something in exchange."

"If I can give it, you can have it."

"I want to be able to defend myself. Guards aren't enough. I'll equip your soldiers, but I'll be armed too. And so will any femmes with you." he added, gesturing to Elita-1. "If they're willing to do what they've done so far, they'll do anything. None of us are safe anymore. Not until it's over."

"Agreed." Optimus nodded. "Can you also remove the pacification protocols in civilian programming?"

Ratchet hesitated.

"Programming isn't my specialty..." he began, then shook his head. "I'll figure it out or find someone who can. No point giving you all guns if you can't fire them, is there?"

"Me first." Magnus stepped forward. "I'll volunteer to be the test case."

Ratchet grunted.

"Knew from the click I saw you you were crazy. Right, lets stop wasting time and get going?"

"Don't you need to collect your tools?" Kup asked.

"I'm good to go. Trust me: I've got everything I need."


"Magnus?" a soft voice called. "Are you alright?"

He turned to see Elita-1 approaching where he sat on the edge of the roof. The view of Iacon was spectacular from here, but he had not really been enjoying it.

"Ratchet said the surgery and reprogramming went fine." she ventured, settling beside him.

He sighed, raising his arm and triggering the sequence to make a rifle emerge from his forearm.

"It went fine." he agreed dully.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I just..." he began, paused, then began again. "I thought I'd feel different. A few groons ago I was just a dockworker and now I'm a soldier, but I still feel the same. I don't even look any different, unless I show these. No-one would even know."

"You regret doing this." she concluded pensively.

"No. No, Megatron needs to be stopped. I understand that, and I want to be part of it. I just thought... it'd be different being military, and it isn't."

"You're still you." she pointed out. "It's just that now you can defend yourself."

That was true. Just because this trip had not ended at all like he had dreamed, did not mean he could get away with sitting around sulking. Tinwhistle would never have put up with it, so why should Prime?

Prime needed him. Prime needed him. And being part of this Autobot group, he could protect Tinwhistle and the others in Odera when they couldn't help themselves.

It was an honourable duty, and he would do whatever it took to see that Megatron's cause failed.

Nodding to himself more than to her comment, he rose.

"Well, I guess I should stop brooding then, right? Doing things will be better than sitting around here. Come on, lets go find out what's next."


End of The recruit.