A/N: So, here's the latest, but not quite "greatest," chapter. Sorry about this one, but I just tried to push it out to get closer to the first really big plot twist. As always, Read, Review, ask questions, etc. Tracy
P.S. Let me know if you have any ideas for some of the other mentioned characters that seem to have worked their way out of the story for the moment.
Chapter Thirty-four:
"Mr. President," Jennifer Agosto started, "before we begin, I must confess something to you."
"What is it Jen?" the President encouraged through the monitor screen.
"I have been having a romantic relationship with Dr. Alistair Carlisle. He is the scientist that is responsible for this whole mess. It is his niece that Jason was referring to."
"She's the 'Maimed Angel'?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes sir. So you reviewed the videos?"
The president grimaced and paled. "Unfortunately, yes I did.
"And you had no idea he did this?"
"No sir. I didn't want to believe he was capable of something so heartless."
"You believe he is now?"
"Yes sir. I'm afraid I was blinded to the truth. I can now say that it is not only possible, but probable he did those things to her."
"Very well. Since you're probably going to tender your resignation as a result of this, I'm afraid I will have to accept it after we have a game plan in place to deal with Jason's mess."
"Yes sir.
"Optimus Prime wants us to tell the media the truth."
"What is the truth Jen?"
"That Alistair manipulated his position as guardian of a severely injured child to carry out illegal human experiments on her. That no one in this administration, except Jason, had any knowledge about those experiments until the Autobots brought them to our attention, and that they were granted temporary custody of the girl to protect her from Alistair and try to repair the injuries that were done to her."
"What is the extent of her injuries?" General Morgan asked from the seat next to her.
"According to Ratchet, the Autobots' medical officer, her current limbs are too small for her, the arm was improperly attached, most of the implants in her brain are wrong, she has exposed circuitry in her audial implant and her optic has no protection from outside elements. There's also the minor detail that she can't turn off either her optic or audial implant, which means she is constantly receiving input from them both," the security advisor answered.
"How did Jason learn about the girl?" the president wanted to know.
"He performed a few of the surgeries on her while under her uncle's control. It was when he was a part of Sector Seven," the general informed.
"Damn," the president swore on a sigh.
"Alright then," he continued, "this is what we're going to do; I will issue a statement that a scientist assigned to the former Sector Seven division used his position to conduct illegal human experiments on his orphaned niece. I'll further explain that the Autobots recently found out about it and are moving quickly to reverse the negative effects of those experiments on the girl. There also will be a blurb about how Jason was a part of those experiments while he was in private practice, and you, Jen, as a result of not knowing his past, have tendered your resignation."
"Yes sir," she agreed with a defeated sigh. She had known there would have to be at least one patsy, and it looked as if it was going to be her.
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
Optimus was standing in the surgical bay watching Ratchet and First Aid work on preparing Sunstreaker's spark casing to receive it. Finally, satisfied that everything was acceptable, they opened the holo preserver and removed the brightly glowing spark. First Aid held it gently as Ratchet ran a scan over it, making sure there were no ill effects from his time there. With a brusque nod from his chief medical officer, First Aid gently lowered the spark back into the casing. Ratchet, quickly and efficiently, attached vital cords and lines into their proper places on the spark.
"There!" First Aid grinned as he removed his hands from the cavity. "That should do it."
"Mmph! Let's see how his body reacts before we start to celebrate," the elder medic cautioned.
Optimus, the medics, including Livewire, and Sideswipe all watched with hope in their sparks for the first signs of life from the previously inert body.
"All systems appear to be booting up appropriately," Livewire stated from his position in front of the monitoring device at the body's head.
"Good, good. It looks like the lines are all holding," Ratchet stated as he continued to scan their work.
"Hey! He's closing his casing!" First Aid crowed happily.
"I see that," Ratchet murmured drily.
As soon as the casing was closed, the rest of the open plating began to close up quickly.
"All systems reading normal," Livewire said with a smile.
"That's what I'm reading too. Shall we bring him out of medical stasis?" First Aid asked eagerly.
"You have that Energon Optimus? Sideswipe?" Ratchet asked of the two 'bots that were hovering just outside of the surgical area.
"Right here," Optimus answered for them.
"Then I guess we can. Just keep an optic on his readings," the chief medic ordered the spindly smaller one.
Nodding to First Aid, he watched the younger medic enter the proper sequence into the touch screen connected to Sunstreaker's cranial processor to revive their patient.
The blue optics of the prone Autobot flickered briefly before they came back on fully.
"How you feeling Sunstreaker?" Ratchet asked the patient, taking note of how long it took him to focus.
"Energon," he asked weekly in his native Cybertronian.
Eagerly, Sideswipe rushed forward with his supply to his twin. Gently, he propped up the other to allow him to properly drink the fuel down.
"We're going to have to move him to the med bay," Ratchet advised as he took the Energon from Optimus, he knowledgeably popped open the injured twin's refueling valve to directly replenish his fuel supply.
"You plan on operating on Ellie here?" Livewire asked in confusion.
"Where's the femmelet?" Sunstreaker wanted to know. He didn't know the odd language the small mech was using yet, but he had recognized the little femme's designation.
"She should be in recharge," Sideswipe answered.
"If I have to, but first, I want to put in proper clean measures so we can begin to fashion her new implants."
"What are they saying?" Sunstreaker demanded of his twin. He only knew they were talking about his rescuer.
In answer, Sideswipe sent a data burst of the languages of the planet. After a moment of opening and downloading the files, he could understand what the medics where talking about.
"What's wrong with Ellie?" Sunstreaker asked in the new, alien tasting, language.
"She is ill," Livewire answered distractedly.
"What are the proper clean measures you need to implement?" Optimus asked.
"Humans have very delicate systems," Ratchet informed, "and as such, they cannot have even little more than a molecule of foreign substance within their bodies. If something does make its way inside, it will cause an infection or any number of other complications. Because of this, we have to erect sterile dividers around the areas we will be working. That also includes some sort of ceiling cover and floor covering and sterilization measures for her surgeons."
"The spidrobots will be more than willing to create enough cloth to make a large enough tent," Livewire was certain.
"Good. However, I was also able to bring enough sterilized material to get started on fashioning her new limbs and servos."
"Why do you need to make her new limbs?" Sunstreaker was getting frustrated.
"The short version," Livewire started with a huff, "is that she was orphaned and severely injured as a toddler, given to her uncle to raise who then used her as a human experiment. During the last round of experiments he subjected her to, he screwed up and now they are beginning to take a negative toll on her physically.
"Specifically speaking about her limbs; they are, firstly, too small for her, secondly, they are uncovered and prone to all sorts of problems, including rusting and finally because they make her self-conscious."
Sunstreaker paused for a moment to search the data burst files to find the definitions of "toddler," "uncle," "human," and "screwed." He did not like what he found.
"Now that that is over," Ratchet began. "Let's get him moved to the med bay so we can keep an optic on him for a couple days."
Leaning forward, Optimus gently picked up the smaller mech from the makeshift berth and turned to carry him, bridal style, to the main medical bay.
"Hey! Watch my paint, boss," Sunstreaker wined.
Optimus' lip plates twitched for a moment. If the vain mech was well enough to worry about his paint, then he was well on his way to recovery. "Of course, Sunstreaker."
TAKINGTHEPLACEOFMY5V'SBREAKBECAUSEFANFICTIONDOTNET EATSMOREBREAKSTHANADRYEREATSSOCKS
Sunstreaker looked around in wonder at the caverns he traveled through. The structure in the center of the second cavern held what looked like a small arena. He saw several holographs hovering over it and was curious about its purpose. Finally, they walked through the main workroom, which he remembered from when Sideswipe had turned him on, and across a corridor into yet another large cavern.
"Who are they?" he asked, motioning to the stasis chambers arranged along the back wall.
"The Aerielbots plus Powerglide and Brawn," Hot Rod announced proudly.
"Did you find that traitor, Slipspin?" Sunstreaker asked with vehemence.
"No, why do you call him a traitor?" Optimus asked in concern as he placed the angry mech on the berth.
"Cause he's the slagging pit-spawn that brought down the Eight Track!"
"I'm sorry? What happened?"
"He was on duty with Flashlight and Splash while the rest of us where in our stasis pods. My internal warnings started going off about low Energon levels, so I got myself out to go to the dispenser. Since it sounded like Splints had a difficult patient in the infirmary, I went to the one near the bridge. That's when I found both Splash and Flashlight dead at the controls and Slipspin was missing.
"I ran back to medical to see if he was there, and he was. He had killed the patient and was fighting with Splints. Unfortunately, he used my entrance as a distraction to kill the medic and then he turned toward me. He was able to get one of my arms, but then I was able to wound him. We fought our way back to the bridge where a shot went wide and took out the autopilot. While we were tumbling through space, he was able to get my leg, and ran back toward the hold. Since I couldn't go after him, I had to climb up onto the vacant chair and strap myself in before we crashed.
"My memory files end at that point."
"I see," Optimus said sadly.
"What did you find out about the other stasis chambers?" the prime turned his attention to Hot Rod.
"Just what you thought, they were all rigged."
"That would explain why these seven were the only ones to survive," First Aid mused. "They are flyers, they have extra fuel reserves because they go through it so quickly. Brawn, because of his mass, doesn't use his so quickly, so he would have had extra when he got into the pod."
"Hey! It looks like someone is up from her recharge," Sideswipe noticed Ellie standing at the entrance to the med bay.
"Optimus?" she asked miserably.
"Yes Ellie?" the large mech asked gently as he knelt down to offer her his hand.
Eagerly, the girl climbed on and held onto his thumb as he stood and raised her to his chest. "My stomach aches."
"Hmph! I bet," Ratchet muttered disapprovingly. "Why did you eat all of that chocolate?" he decided to ask.
"'Cause Bumblebee got in trouble because of me. Sometimes, if I can munch on something sweet, it makes me feel better," she answered as she snuggled closer to Optimus' chest and yawned. "And I felt really, really, REALLY bad."
"Well you really have to not do that anymore," Optimus decided.
"Yes, it can lead to all sorts of problems, including eating disorders," First Aid started reciting.
"Yes, yes," Ratchet interrupted. He knew that First Aid had a habit of reciting entire passages of medical information when he was intrigued by something new. These humans happened to be his newest intrigue.
"Did you go to the bathroom Ellie?" Livewire wanted to know. "It might make you feel better."
The girl nodded as she leaned against his windshield.
"Yes," Optimus translated.
"Do you feel any better?" Livewire asked.
She shrugged her shoulders.
"She doesn't know yet," the Autobot leader translated again.
"Hey! You're awake," she noticed Sunstreaker sitting up on a new berth Ratchet had brought back with them.
"Yes I am, femmelet," Sunstreaker nodded.
She giggled at the expression. "Can I see him a minute?" she asked of her transformer taxi.
Smiling, he walked over to his recovering front liner and gently handed her off to him. She scrambled up his chest plates and gave him an awkward hug around the neck cables.
"I'm glad you're not in two pieces anymore," she told him. Then, gently, she kissed his cheek plate and signaled to return to Optimus.
"I hope that doesn't rust," Sunstreaker groused good naturedly. "But thanks. I'm glad too."
"You already were rusty," she informed him as she lay across the giant hand.
"What? I have never been rusty in my entire existence," he defended hotly.
"Uh-huh!" she nodded as she yawned again. "I had to take WD-forty to you when we first pulled you in from the hill."
"I was rusty?" he asked in disbelief.
She nodded again. "Yeah, Jukes was worried it might have been contagious."
"There's no sign of any rust now," First Aid informed before he could work himself up.
"Ah yes," Ratchet said thoughtfully. "The humans insist on using that substance quite liberally. I haven't gotten around to testing its usefulness or side effects on our bodies yet."
"There's plenty on her work bench," Livewire supplied as he continued to monitor Sunstreaker's vitals.
"Perhaps that is something we can get Que to research while we finish with the stasis chambers and work on her implants and limbs," First Aid suggested.
"I believe she has returned to a recharge state," Optimus informed the group at large.
"Jazz should be out in the hall. He was on shift with her tonight," Livewire directed.
"On shift for what?" Sunstreaker demanded.
Livewire audibly sighed with reluctant resignation. "She has nightmares. One of us will stay with her in her room overnight to try and keep her from hurting herself when she has them. When we first set up here, she had a bad reaction to one and ran into a wall. Gave herself a concussion and a scar just at her hairline."
"When was the last time she had one?" First Aid wanted to know. He had downloaded all sorts of files about the human phenomena of night terrors, and was curious about their accuracy.
"She had a nightmare last night that she seemed to be able to bring herself out of. If you are curious about the other activities, like sleep walking, then that would have been two nights before she met up with you guys at the industrial complex."
"What happened with that episode?" Ratchet wanted to know.
"According to Jukes, she got up and hid in the bathroom until he could put her back in bed. So, fortunately, nothing major with that one."
"Do you notice if they occur when she is overly tired?" First Aid asked.
"No. Actually, she seems to sleep better when she is exhausted. The night after she has an exhausted sleep is usually when they strike," Livewire informed.
"I will put her back in bed. You three will try to determine what effects this will have on her," Optimus ordered as he turned and walked out of the room.
When he turned into the corridor, he saw Jazz standing just outside of a curtained off area.
"I have her, old friend," he greeted his former second in command and best friend.
"Good. I was beginning to get worried."
"Yes. She found us in the med bay with Sunstreaker. He has been restored to his body, if you would like to go check on him."
"Nah, I can see him tomorrow.
"I'll show you how to put her to bed, but you'll probably have to stay outside and lean into her room."
"Very well," the Autobot leader agreed as he knelt in front of the entrance as Jazz held the curtain back. Gently, he reached in and rolled the girl off his hand and onto her bed.
"Hope she doesn't get sea sick!" the smaller mech chuckled. Still laughing to himself, he efficiently pulled off her boots and glasses, then placed her feet back on the cot and covered her.
"How long do you expect her to recharge now?"
"Maybe another four or five hours. She tends to wake up between eight and nine most mornings."
Optimus nodded thoughtfully. "If you need anything, someone will be in the med bay all night. I believe I will try out that plasma bath Clyde and Bonecrusher informed us about. Perhaps I will even get some recharge myself." Pushing himself back from Ellie's quarters, he stood to his full height, turned and walked back toward the bathing area.