Ultra Rodimus' notes: Things are starting to pick up as plans are discussed and Medic Alert gets into one of the other reasons he's here.
Into Rapture
"We're going to run out of room at this rate," Tenenbaum muttered to herself, holding the newest Little Sister that had been semi-freed. Sent to her by Delta, the child was understandably scared of her new location, alternating between hiding in the older woman's skirts or in the Rumbler's arms.
Right now Tenenbaum set the child down and moved to Ultimus and Medic Alert, taking her glasses off, "Dis is your friend I take it?"
Ultimus nodded, tilting his head toward the triple changer. "This is Medic Alert, the chief medic of my people, who's put me back together many, many times after battle. He knows how my body works better than anyone... Even better than I do in some ways. He could probably help you with figuring out my genetic code's mysteries. MA is a triple changer... Two alt modes. Helicopter and ambulance."
"Tenenbaum," the older woman said after a moment's hesitation, offering her hand to the new Autobot while behind her the Rumber stood up.
He had been woken from his nap by the girls clustered behind him, feet braced and grumbling as the un-masked Big Daddy eyed this new thing too.
"Hello." Medic Alert's voice was soft, his shy nature peeking through as he carefully took her hand in his, careful not to hurt her. Blue optics glowed softly as he looked over at the Rumbler.
"Relax," Ultimus called over to the Rumbler. "He's been a carrier and is a parent; he won't hurt the girls."
"Expect glaring and grumbles for a bit," The older woman said, making a calming motion to the Big Daddy with her other hand. "But he will calm once he sees you are no threat."
The blades on Medic Alert's back rustled nervously before stilling, pressing tight to his armor. "I'm a medic, a healer... I don't fight unless I absolutely have to, and I won't hurt any of the girls. Goldie trusts me to look after his sparklings, and I have two of my own. I'd never hurt them."
"Big Daddies need to see for themselves," Tenenbaum tapped her temple at level of her eyes, "It will be alright. Come," she now motioned both Autobots to follow her into the living space, which had been giving a good all over scrubbing and cleaning while Ultimus was gone.
Except one wall that was being drawn upon. Two girls in the act that most of the time on the surface was frowned upon, yet here wasn't. Neither Tenenbaum or Kate minded that much and there was no spare paper.
Medic Alert's optics brightened when he saw all the girls there, and his rotor blades loosened from the tense posture they'd been held in. Ultimus laughed at him.
"Hey doc, you were right," Kate called over her shoulder from one side, the two women had rigged up an exam table for the girls near the herb tanks to the right. On it was a young Little Sister, one that Ultimus had met back in the Den. Kate was holding that scanning tool she used on herself that morning, "She has something lodged inside from the failed harvest."
Sharp-edged metal blades flared at that, before settling back down. Ultimus growled softly under his breath, walking over to look at the display. Medic Alert was a step behind him, looking around the larger mech. "What is it?"
Tenenbaum pushed between the two Autobots until she could tilt the screen and frown at it. Kate surrendered to tool to the older woman, "Hmmm... looks like a shard, or a smaller blade. Puh, fools... don't worry little one, Mamma Tenenbaum has fixed this before." she added to the sick looking child.
"Gonna be bloody," Kate muttered under her breath.
Medic Alert's antennae flattened back at that. As a medic he was used to seeing blood spilled, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Something small appeared in one hand, flickering as he shifted his grip on it, hesitating.
Tenenbaum looked back at him, arching an eyebrow before looking to Ultimus. She turned to clap her hands, "Girls! Show Daddy here your new garden!" She called, motion to the bigger Autobot, "I am sure he will like those berries hmm?"
"Laser scalpel," Ultimus explained, gesturing toward Medic Alert's hand. "Uses an energy blade rather than a metal blade, cauterizes the blood vessels. Very little bleeding." A scarlet eyebrow lifted. "He's well-versed on human medicine, even though he's normally too big to perform it. And, unlike you, he actually can see right through flesh and bone when he wants to."
"Useful," The woman said as Ultimus was then pounced on by excited girls, trying to get him to come with them. At the same time Kate offered her arms to take the sleeping Jack.
Ultimus twitched an ear. "I did say he's a medic." With that, he shooed the rest of the swarm out. Medic Alert flicked his rotors at the taller Cybertronian, but otherwise didn't move.
"The problem," Tenenbaum said after closing the door between the living space and garden. Returning, she extracted a syringe out of one of her deep dress pockets, "Is the healing factor of the Little Ones."
Medic Alert nodded. "Ulti showed me all the data he's gathered in his time here..." He tilted his helm toward her. The fingers of one hand flexed, seeming to extend into a series of fine tools before resuming their usual configuration. Behind the blue lenses of his optics, the focusing cameras whirred softly, fixing on the x-ray shadow that did not belong in the girl's body.
Tenenbaum injected the sedative, humming softly until the girl yawned and closed her eyes before fully dropping into unconsciousness. The woman patting the girl's head before lifting the dress out of the way, "We have twenty minutes before the slug burns through that sedative. The Little One will be healing nearly as fast as we can cut."
The medic sidled closed, tilting his head in a weirdly birdlike manner, working on the best angle. "I can get it from this side." White fingers hovered over the site, making sure there was nothing vital in the way.
"You have not been in contact with anyone sick?" Tenenbaum asked, reaching out to hold onto both of the Autobot's wrists to keep him from doing anything just yet.
Medic Alert shook his head. "No, I have not. I underwent a full decontamination cycle just before being brought here, after the last repair I did."
"Good," The woman nodded before pointing to a spot over skin, "We start here. But do not take the slug out, Medic Alert, for it will be the only thing saving this Little One after the metal is taken out."
"Was not planning on touching the slug." The triple changer's voice was all business. "I'm already well aware of its importance."
The girl woke up woozy, using up a lot of her ADAM and general energy in continually healing during the surgery. Tenenbaum offered some raw ADAM, water and a bit of honeycomb for her to take, but the child wasn't happy until she was picked up for a cuddle.
Turning wide eye up to Medic Alert, holding her arms to him as well. "Daddy?" she asked hesitantly.
The triple changer had just finished an extensive decontamination of his hands and tools, his digits folding back into their normal configuration while he tucked anything else back into subspace. Blue optics turned to the girl, then he smiled and gently picked her up.
"I feel funny," she muttered, nibbling on her honeycomb treat as the girl snuggled into the Autobot's arms.
"It will pass," Tenenbaum assured as she slipped off her gloves and then mask, and then playing on the mental conditioning added as she opened the door again, "Just stay with Daddy there and no running around."
"You'll be fine," the triple changer told her softly, stroking her hair. "You just need to rest."
The child rested her head on Medic Alert's chest, yawning as she did so as she was still groggy from the sedative. A few small heads peeked around the once again open door, eyeing the newcomer that had been locked up with their only real mother figure. Medic Alert's red helm tilted toward the girls, his blue eyes glowing softly. His rotors were folded against his back, his antennas tilted slightly backward at a relaxed angle.
"They did the same thing to me," Kate said as she ruffled Rose's hair while she walked in and back to the computer station near the copper air vent. "I got the Thinker hooked up Ultimus," The woman called over her shoulder, "Whenever you un-pile yourself."
"Or I could just walk over, pile and all," the redhead drawled. Medic Alert carried the girl he held over to see what was going on, chuckling at the sight of Ultimus half buried in small bodies.
"No, cuz we got you!" Rose said as she hurried over to join the pile, glomping onto the nearest arm. Her black haired partner hanging back to edge closer and poke Medic Alert's leg.
"Stronger than I look," Ultimus chuckled, managing to move the whole pile forward several steps. His hydraulics could be heard whining through the seams of his armor.
"Show-off," Medic Alert called over teasingly.
"Aaaarrmph." Came a wordless comment from the Rumbler as he looked up from his spot, a corner in the garden with his heavy tanks, launcher and helmet in a line beside him in order to grab up.
Medic Alert looked at the Rumbler curiously. He flicked his scanners over the Big Daddy, filing the results away. Ultimus looked over, then turned to Tenenbaum. "I got our armored companion's number, so perhaps we can find out his name."
The older woman nodded as she finished cleaning up, "Yes, I can find this out for you." Tenenbaum nodded as she moved to the new interface, "Though as a warning, it may now only be the title from Big Daddy program... depending on where the man was taken from."
The redhead nodded, making his way over to the computer, girls and all. The curious triple changer followed, looking around the taller mech's shoulder.
Kate poked her head out of the only true bedroom, eyeing the group on a whole, holding another younger and new Little Sisters in her arms. The child was nearly asleep as the woman made sure her hard work wasn't hurt, and once assured it was she moved back into the bedroom.
Yellow eyes flicked in Kate's direction briefly. Ultimus didn't get too close to the computer, not with the girls clinging to most of him, watching Tenenbaum.
"Number?" The older woman asked pausing in her typing, looking back at the Autobots, paused and shooed most of the girls off Ultimus with a, "Let the man have space to breath!" Ultimus chuckled, venting warm air, stirring the girls' hair. Leaning over, he typed in the number he'd gotten from the Rumbler. Tenenbaum came back over once he hand done so, "This may take a few minutes, there are many Big Daddies over the years..."
"I can imagine." Ultimus nodded, absently dislodging a strand of brown hair that had gotten caught in his shoulder joint. He was being careful of how he moved his arms, not wanting to accidentally stab anyone with the needle-sharp yellow projections that came off his forearms.
"You best be human I think," The woman chuckled glancing back, "Little Ones, be off of him and be polite." Her eyes flicked over to Medic Alert to see how the girl they had operated on was.
The big Cybertronian snorted, but obligingly shifted to human, this time choosing to shape his armor as blue jeans and a loose sleeveless shirt, along with the armor-plated boots. Medic Alert watched with interest, his blades stirring slightly. The girl in his arms was almost asleep, nestled in the curve of his side, along the edge of his cockpit.
Kate poked her head back out again, scanning around before motioning to Medic Alert, "If she's out you can put her in here."
"She's pretty out of it." The medic padded over, carefully putting the girl down.
Kate pulled the blanket back for him to do so, right now the bed was being used by Jack and another girl, with only the children they were in the bed sideways to make more room. "You got the thing out?" The tech asked in a quieted voice
"We got it out," Medic Alert confirmed, his voice equally soft. "She just needs to rest."
"One of the advantages they have," Kate muttered softly, shaking her head as she glanced at Jack and then back, "Don't be shocked to see some if not half having any number of scars." The woman tapped her own middle in the most likely place there would be.
Medic Alert nodded. "I saw signs of scarring. From the implantations and from failed harvest attempts, I'm assuming."
"Probably the same attempt that left that blade tip in her," Kate tucked Medic Alert's girl in, "well, she's better now, let's go distract the rest of the girls."
"I think Tenenbaum just chased them off of Ulti," the red-and-white replied, heading back out to the main room.
"They're still kids," Kate chuckled, "And this many they need distraction from more than one thing. There's also the need to set up beds- Ultimus did you get those? I don't know if my message went through."
The big redhead gave her a grin. "They had to come in pieces from the warehouses, so it's all 'some assembly required'." He sauntered over, pulling a pile of parts from subspace.
"Wouldn't be the first time I had to do this, but to start with if you can poof out the mattresses, sheets and blankets if you got them too." Kate paused, standing in the middle of the room as she took in the large space before moving to the table to push it against the wall and then turned back to the human form Autobot to see if he had the normal mattresses or the smaller ones.
Ultimus had gotten the mattresses that fit the bedframes he'd hunted down. Bringing them and the other supplies out of subspace, he eased out of the way.
Kate snorted as she looked over at where Tenenbaum was now playing with the equipment she had set up over the day by the little room the interface was in. Some things in that pumping control room as well, the older woman was absorbed in the blood sample she finally secured from Ultimus.
"Oy," Kate huffed before returning her attention to the large bowls of berries and peaches, then to the several sets of wide eyes and sighed as she admitted, "Yes I know how to make pies."
The Little Sisters cheered.
Ultimus was leaning against the wall, watching Tenenbaum and Medic Alert, who was hovering behind her with rotors twitching. "At least he remembered to deactivate the nanites in his blood this time," the triple changer murmured as he ran his own scans on the green liquid, mapping out the genetic code it contained.
"To see an active reaction to ADAM without harm would might be useful later." Tenenbaum said as she lifted a smaller shot glass she was using to hold a cupful of raw ADAM. There were a few bottles of the stuff elsewhere in the cool chamber she had set up. "I can refine a workable amount for plasmid making here."
"I've got bucketfuls in subspace," Ultimus commented from where he was leaning, casually scrolling through a list of plasmids and tonics he'd downloaded onto a datapad.
"And another two here." Tenenbaum paused her work for the first time, staring intently at text scrolling a screen. "Hmm... Ultimus, would you bring those buckets out? I have something to make for two others, and the need is quick. Medic Alert, would you care to learn how to refine ADAM?"
Medic Alert flicked his rotors, nodding. "I would be quite interested in learning how." He glanced at Ultimus. "Have you picked out any specific plasmids, because I doubt you would want or be able to handle all of them."
The redhead nodded, bringing out a good four buckets full of raw ADAM, fishing around to make sure there weren't any more lurking in his trailer section. Two smaller buckets joined the four larger in a neat line next to Tenenbaum's table. "I think that's all of it..."
Kate was laughing in the background, having raided the pantry and finding dry goods had been very carefully sealed and thus still good, though was still making a list of things she was going to find out in Rapture to bring back. Or have her other half get on his way here.
Tenenbaum glanced over as she started setting up another machine, sending a hovering girl to fetch some of the empty jars. "That would be helpful to know ahead of time."
Ultimus frowned at the datapad. "I'm leaning toward the Incinerate, fully upgraded if possible, that Gravity Well, Security Command, and Cyclone Trap. Electrobolt would come in handy, as well... Hmm. The Natural Camouflage tonic might be useful, too... Other than those, I can't see anything I'd really use."
"Hmm..." Tenenbaum nodded filling that information away with one part of her mind while at the same time measuring out some of the raw ADAM in one of the jars. "To start with we need refined ADAM, and not just for Ultimus, and I will need the oldest of the girls ready to give these gifts."
Rose perked up, aware from stories from the Big Sisters about what was about to happen, she hopped down from her chair, and hurried out to the garden to fetch one of the teddy bears.
The triple changer's flaring rotors reflected his enthusiasm. "Percy's going to be so pissed that he missed out on this..."
Ultimus burst out laughing, hard enough that he had to dig his fingers into the wall to remain upright.
Tenenbaum chuckled looking up at the taller Autobot beside her, "You at least will know now to show later, hm? Now, watch carefully, and you, little one, fetch that distilled water."
"Perceptor is pure scientist, the type who can't even ask about the weather without using words as long as your arm," Ultimus got out, getting his laughter under control. "He prefers hands-on experience to secondhand information. I guarantee he's going to blow a gasket when he finds out what he missed out on."
"Ah, like I and my former companions were like, used to be," The older woman said softly as she reached over to pull Medic Alert's hand to get him closer for a better look as she worked, "Other than the Little Ones making, this is the easier part."
Medic Alert leaned over, watching closely. He was also making detailed notes for later. "Percy's a good mech. Just don't ever make him mad. While he does turn into a microscope, he can use his lens barrel as a light cannon."
"Could have used that with Suchong," The older woman didn't look up, but she had a respectful smile. Behind her and Medic Alert a little hand was patting on Ultimus' leg for attention.
Ultimus looked down, tilting his head as he responded to the patting. "Yes?"
The little sister hopped up to secure his fingers and hand, "Come help make pie daddy!"
The redhead blinked at her for a moment, then sighed and let himself be dragged from the workroom. "I'd probably end up burning it."
"Then you can cut fruit," Kate called to him as she was making the crust.
"That I can do without burning anything." Ultimus walked over. "We Cybertronians get our fuel from cubes; it requires processing, but we don't cook."
"With what looks like another long haul in Rapture?" Kate smirked, not saying the possibilities of after- if there was for her, "And all these girls, you better learn more than opening cans."
"I could stash everybody in my trailer section, in subspace, and swim to the surface," the Cybertronian replied. "But the Thinker wants to see how this Lamb business plays out before he's disconnected from the city."
"I don't think that'd work with decompression..." Kate made a face, knowing Rapture mechanics more than this.
"Probably wouldn't... But I never said I'd go straight from the ocean floor to the surface." Ultimus flicked an ear at her. "I got the lecture on decompression from Poseidon."
"The Thinker might help," Kate thought that over as she started poking around the dishes, coming up with a large bowl and a knife from the inside of her boot.
"How so?" Ultimus pulled out one of his own daggers, testing the edge of the blade with one claw.
Kate was about to offer her blade to the mech, but paused, "figuring out the right time, who knows maybe one of the old evacuation subs are still functioning. Or be fixable." She slid her knife back away and moved the desired number of peaches plus some more for the girls that would snitch pieces, to the table and scooted the chair by the spot as well.
Ultimus found a place to sit, watching how Kate cut up the peaches before taking one and trying it himself. His blade was sharp enough to go right through the pit, so he carefully picked out the bits of the peach stone.
"Try to save the seeds," The woman said as she sent the girls off to pick another bowl of berries, "going to have to be inventive with the dish."
The Cybertronian frowned at the peach, making an effort to cut around the pit. He grinned slightly to himself as he succeeded in getting it out in one piece, setting it aside.
"If it helps you can use a kitchen knife," Kate said, shifting so Ulti could see how she cut around the peach using the pit. Then twisted the halves to free one side and then deftly using the knife to cut the pit out. Kate had done this before, and the last time not too long ago.
"I'll get the hang of it." Ultimus reached for another peach.
"OY!" Kate yelled in a mock growl as Rose was the first to succeed in grabbing a peach half before bolting.
Ultimus chuckled, looking up from the peach he'd just cut in half. "I suspect that's going to be happening a lot."
"That's what happens with kids." The woman shrugged but was still in good humor.
The redhead contemplated the peach, then shaved off a piece and chewed on it thoughtfully. "Not bad. I can see why the girls like them so much."
"It's a real treat to most of the Rapture born kids." Kate rearranged the peaches so Ultimus would be halving them as she started to slice the halves. "Hopefully the stew will turn out for tonight."
"Something of a treat for me, too, since I've never had the opportunity to taste human food before." Ultimus sliced another peach, placing the pit with the rest.
"What all have you tried?" Kate asked, tilting her head.
"Not overly much... When I first gained the ability to become human it was some nasty-tasting stuff. I was restricted to mild foods to keep from overloading my system." Ultimus shrugged. "My cat was more than willing to catch fish for me, so that's mostly what I was stuck with."
"Cat?" The woman glanced over at him again, wondering and then, "Like the normal ones?" She wasn't thinking of the ADAM infected ones.
"She's from another universe." Ultimus fished around in his subspace, pulling out a small holo emitter. With it he showed Kate a picture of the lacat clinging to the shoulder of his mech form, Roddy in his human form on the other shoulder.
"Big kitty," The woman said after taking a long look, also looking at Ultimus again as if trying to see him that big, as Roddy gave the scale.
"Big, very smart, and harmless. Usually." He grinned. "And yes, I really am that big."
"Daaamn..." The mechanic muttered, remembering just in time to watch her knife so not to slice herself.
Ultimus' grin widened. "You think I'm big, Primus forbid you ever cross paths with Metroplex."
"You mentioned that name before I think," Kate smiled, as she caught up with slicing the peach halves.
"Metroplex is the largest of my kind. He's also called Autobot City." A red eyebrow lifted as the human mech waited to see if Kate would figure that one out.
"City like Rapture-city?" the woman blinked as she absorbed this. If it was she hoped he had techs like the Thinker did in Rapture.
Ultimus' grin widened. He projected a holo-image of Metroplex in his city mode, just before his transformation into a colossal white mech. "That is Metroplex."
Kate managed to keep herself from saying something too bad as she watched, then her interest shifted to poke the hologram, "How do you do this?"
"My race are millions of years older than humans; we've had a very long time to develop technologies that are still only theoretical to you." Ultimus tilted his head. "I'm a warrior, so I don't know the nuts and bolts of it myself. You'd have to meet Perceptor and ask him. If you can understand him that is." A flash of grin. "And Metro stands over 800 meters in his mech form."
"...And the Thinker was like that?" Kate wondered about that, she knew it, he, was integrated into the city itself. From her earlier days in Rapture and helping it expand, the underwater city had been referred as the body of the Thinker, since it controlled so much of it.
"The Thinker was a space flyer," Ultimus replied. "His alt mode, he told me, was a spacecraft. When MA and I get him back to Cybertron, he'd like to get a city alt. Rapture itself is incapable of transforming like Metroplex's body does."
"No offence," Kat said as she put the sliced peaches in the larger bowl. Moving over to wash her hands of sticky juice before washing the first batch of berries. "I don't think that'd be a good idea if the city did that."
"Maybe, maybe not." Ultimus shrugged, finishing the last peach. "It works for Metroplex. And for Fortress Maximus."
"Well the best of luck to the Thinker." Kate shook her head, "Not sure how it's going to be in a normal city for me and my man... if we do get up to the surface."
Ultimus turned to look at the girls. "I'm more worried about how the surface world will see them. At least humans in my world, my time, are used to strangeness. I doubt the surface world here will be very understanding."
"Tenenbaum did it before," The woman felt that she had to point that out, but she looked at the girls playing on the mostly set up beds, hearing the older woman and Medic Alert talking about the ADAM. "But there is always the chance of someone realizing they had been here."
"I heard that someone else had been through here, some years ago." Ultimus nodded slowly.
"Yeah, Ryan's son," Kate snorted in amusement.
"Is that who he was?" Ultimus blinked. "I haven't heard much about it."
"Well, I can tell you what I know," Kate offered, "Though I don't have all the details."
"Considering I know less, anything would be a help." Ultimus carefully cleaned his dagger before returning it to subspace.
"You're going to have to be the mixer then," The woman grinned as she carried over the berries and sugar to the table.
Tbc...
If it's not already obvious, Ultimus does not intend to just leave Tenenbaum, the girls, the Rumbler, and Kate behind. He's already making plans of his own, and he does not trust the surface world of the '70s to treat them right. His plans will become clear eventually.
Anyway, as usual, read and review, please!