EastWind walked into the med bay and was greeted by Ratchet. "You wanted to see me," she said.
"You need to have a more comprehensive checkup," said Ratchet. "Now that you're an Autobot, you're under my care."
"Didn't you get my medical file from Cascade?" she asked.
"I did," said Ratchet. "I simply need a base profile for the future."
"All right," said EastWind reluctantly.
Cascade was sleeping when she got an alarming personal comm that ripped her from her recharge. She quickly headed for the med bay ducking and dodging around bots and ignoring any calls from them. The doors to the med bay slid open and she arrived to see EastWind sitting on a berth and clutching her head. Ratchet was nearby and he turned quickly as he heard the snarl that Cascade released. "What did you do to her Ratchet?" asked Cascade in a very even voice.
"There was a memory block in her processor and I simply removed it," said Ratchet.
"Did you not think there was a reason the block was in place," stated Cascade. "I put the block there and it was there for a reason. I don't recall you asking for permission to remove it."
"I needed no such thing," said Ratchet getting angry. "She is my patient now. I already noticed something developing that you missed," he continued smugly. "The use of too many subspaces and the regulation of energy to certain mods was starting to overtax her systems."
"Thanks for the information," said Cascade sarcastically moving closer to him. With one quick move Cascade placed Ratchet into medical stasis. She roughly shoved his frame onto a nearby berth before he fell. "He's only recharging," said Cascade to First Aid as he started toward her. She held out a hand to stop him. "Stay where you are. If you try to intervene, I'll put you out as well. As of right now, you are in charge of the med bay." First Aid stopped where he was as Cascade approached EastWind and gently gripped her arm. "It's okay," she said gently. "I'll make it all better." She quickly erased the memories that she had previously blocked and EastWind's frame relaxed immediately. "I'm going to consolidate your subspaces into two so they don't put a drain on your systems. This should alleviate some of the strain on your systems and allow energy to be freed up elsewhere. Please see Ironhide if the energy regulation for your weapons overtaxes you. See Ratchet if you notice other problems." Cascade stepped away from her and contacted the other femmes to find out their locations. EastWind slowly got down from the berth and went to the med bay doors. "I don't blame you for anything First Aid," said Cascade glancing over at Ratchet. "You may want to let him sleep as long as possible." She quickly stepped behind EastWind using her as a visual shield for when the doors opened revealing Inferno and Red Alert. As she had suspected, First Aid had followed protocol and called for backup. EastWind proceeded to pretend to trip landing on the two mechs who couldn't get past her with her wings partially extended. Cascade took off down the hall heading for the other femmes.
First Aid released Ratchet's medical stasis and Inferno and Red Alert were informed of what had happened after they untangled themselves from EastWind. They left the med bay soon afterwards in order to search for Cascade. She eluded them for some time and before they successfully found her, Cascade turned herself into Prowl after she had finished the adjustments on the entire defense force. Prowl quickly led her to a cell in the brig and she followed without complaint. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were in the cell across from her.
"What are you in for?" asked Sideswipe curiously.
"For medically inducing forced recharge on Ratchet," said Cascade settling onto the berth in the cell. She started working on the adjustments to her own systems once she was settled.
"Have you lost your processor?" asked Sunstreaker in astonishment.
"You have a death wish," said Sideswipe shaking his head. "We play pranks on Ratchet occasionally, but nothing that would prevent him from working for long."
"It wasn't a prank," said Cascade tilting her head back so that it rested against the wall. Her visor glowed softly in the dimly lit cell. "I simply pointed out after he ranted about the idiots he had to deal with that he had neglected his own care and recharge. He didn't take me calling him out on it well so I overrode his commands and put him into recharge for two hours. First Aid and I were tending to any patients that arrived in the meantime. Ratchet came online hours later and that's how I ended up here." She did put Ratchet into stasis so that part of her story was true, but the twins didn't need to know the real reason why. She wasn't out to ruin Ratchet's reputation and she was still kind of irked that he'd been able to take down her memory block so easily. She had briefly entertained the idea that she was as good a medic as he was, but he'd blown that notion to smithereens.
"Ratchet's not going to let you live that down," warned Sunstreaker shaking his head in disbelief while Sideswipe continued to simply gape at her. No one went against Ratchet and came out unscathed.
"I'm sure I've already been banned from the med bay," said Cascade shrugging. "I'll simply be employing my skills in the field instead of there. I seem to have meddled in his domain a little too much for his liking. I'm not worried about it though. Technically, I'm not even an Autobot so they can chuck me off the ship as soon as we reach Cybertron." She situated herself more comfortably onto the berth and went back to the recharge that had been interrupted when this whole situation began.
Cascade sat across from Smokescreen while he leaned back the appearance of an easygoing bot. "So do you know why you're here?" asked Smokescreen.
"From what I've heard about you, I'm guessing that you're here to analyze me for my actions," said Cascade. "I'm not an Autobot so I'm guessing you have to determine if I'm a threat to your comrades. I assume your privy to what really happened in the med bay so let me set your processor at ease. I have no ill will toward the Autobots. There is always a reason for what I do and there is nothing wrong with me."
"Is that so?" said Smokescreen. "Your actions make me think otherwise."
"I have no issues with any bot and personally there is nothing wrong with me. I guess if you need something, you can say that I'm simply lonely," said Cascade honestly.
Smokescreen was caught off guard by the frank admission, but quickly regained his composure. "What about your comrades?" he inquired.
"We were thrown together by chance and creation. They work cohesively as a team, but it was only for the competitions in the simulation that all of us teamed up otherwise I worked by myself. The one I would be closest to would have been Hyperfall had I bothered to keep the organic memories, but now we don't have a connection beyond that we were created for defense and I was created to repair them. I suppose I simply need to make friends, but given the current circumstances that won't happen for some time."
"What do you mean?" asked Smokescreen.
"Real friends take time," said Cascade. "Anyone can say they're your friend, but the ones that stick with you through everything are the only real ones. I imagine the bots that you consider friends are ones that you've known for a while."
"You are correct," said Smokescreen.
"Perhaps one day when circumstances no longer require our co-operation, I will be able to make real friends," said Cascade. "I'm not sure what information you want from me, but you can ask me questions about the others if you like. I understand them, but I still can't predict everything."
"I truly hope you make friends someday soon," said Smokescreen with that easygoing smile still plastered to his face. "May I ask why you blocked all their organic memories and then proceeded to delete them without their permission?"
"Ratchet forced my hand," said Cascade venting. "When I originally realized that my organic memories were false, I deleted them immediately. The reason for this was because thinking you're organic when you're actually Cybertronian would consistently cause glitches within your own systems. The way organics live and react to their environment is completely different from the way we do. Those with many more years than my own were attached to who they thought they were as an organic in the simulation and it was causing them spark-break to realize that the people they cared for didn't exist. That was the initial reason for the block. It was easier to convince them to accept the block than complete erasure. The block was for both their physical and mental well being."
"What happened with Ratchet?" asked Smokescreen tilting his head.
"I understand that Ratchet was curious, but when he removed the block I had put on EastWind, he caused her severe emotional pain. Even medics shouldn't meddle with something they don't fully comprehend. You have no idea what I saved you from when I deleted her and all the rest of their organic memories," said Cascade. "I may have alienated myself from the group by doing so, but the repercussions would have been worse."
"Can you elaborate?" asked Smokescreen leaning forward.
"If you overlook the glitches it would cause to their processors, I know for a fact that three of the group would have sunk into an endless depression as they would have believed that they had lost their organic families forever. It would be like having multiple bonds broken at the same time for us. It might even have caused one or two to offline themselves. I don't believe that Ratchet would like to be the cause of unnecessary pain, but then you know him better than I do."
"So you do care about them," stated Smokescreen.
"I never said I didn't, but they aren't my friends merely my responsibility as a medic," said Cascade. "I was created to repair them and they're more like temporary allies. I've known them for the least amount of time while some of the others have been together for years. Though now that I think about it, the trouble the rest would have caused you if their blocks were removed would be worth watching actually," said Cascade smirking.
Smokescreen straightened in his chair. "Continue," he said gesturing.
"Organics are very tactile Smokescreen," said Cascade relaxing back into her seat. "Cybertronians are not. I've observed how only those closest to a bot are allowed to come into contact with them. That's even more true during a time of war. Most bots are on high alert and high strung. Now throw in an organic's need to touch the world around them because they live off of that sensory data. How would you react if one of the new bots that you barely knew suddenly placed an arm around you or grabbed onto you in reflex? I'm sure it would make you uncomfortable at the very least, but I'm sure you're perceptive enough to realize they don't mean any harm. Now imagine that scenario with a bot who's high strung, concerned with his appearance or just itching for a fight."
"I see," said Smokescreen. "That would be a problem."
"The bots whose memories were used to create the simulations knew many of the Autobots and Decepticons or knew of them. We latched onto the most prominent trait of said bots and exaggerated it in the simulation. Had the organic memories remained, certain Autobots would have been inundated with adoring admirers despite them not acting the way we remembered them in the simulations. The more brash bots among us would have relentlessly inserted themselves into the business of those adored Autobots and thought they were helping. They may have even approached the Decepticons thinking they could change their ways. It would not have ended well for anyone and the brig would be full of bots that thought it was appropriate to constantly prank others during a war." Cascade shifted forward. "I have a concern however," she said.
"And that would be?" asked Smokescreen curiously.
"Switch," said Cascade. "If you only watch one bot, watch him. When we were in the simulations, Switch's one and only goal was to win by any means necessary."
"So he's competitive," said Smokescreen.
"Competitive, manipulative and the leader of his group," said Cascade. "He sacrificed many on his team repeatedly to gain the victories that he did. In the simulations if you offlined, you merely went back a level, but in reality if you offline, you offline for good. He'd be a great asset if you could keep him from switching sides. He is aptly named however and there is a reason he hasn't become an Autobot. He'll co-operate with me, but he won't tell me what he's thinking so maybe you can get through to him."
"Are you afraid of him?" asked Smokescreen leaning closer to her.
"Not afraid just very cautious," said Cascade. "Because that win he wanted so badly, I took it from him."