Chapter 10
Hook is as lazy a medic as Ratchet had always imagined him to be if the medical entry Gears sent was anything to go by. Only the bare minimum of effort seemingly put into the confusing jumble of data and claims.
In fact, the ambulance would probably be demanding Gears find a way to include the constructicion in this transmission (so he could properly educate the Decepticon) if his patient wasn't currently insisting the shoddy entry was telling the truth.
"Now look! Are you really so gullible as to believe this slag?" Ratchet admonishes, glaring at the mini on screen. "You don't have a carrier's spark or spark chamber. The fact that you know this, and have still decided to believe Hook, suggests you're just being paranoid."
"Why don't you take things seriously, cause you're not acting like a proper medic yourself at the moment." Gears growls back.
It's a good thing no one else was present in the Ark's control room. Ratchet has the urge to knock some sense into his patient, but with said mech currently being kept hostage at the bottom of the ocean, he might have taken his frustrations out on some bot else.
Despite common belief, Gears is not usually the worst of the ambulance's patients, as he really does value and actively care for his physical wellbeing (where many other Autobots do not). Today however…. Today Ratchet isn't there to check things for himself and the minibot has had only Decepticons to rely on for three days now.
"I can't give you a proper check up over a transmission." The medic insists.
When the red and blue mech visibly sags and shutters his optics, the CMO believes his point to have finally made its way into the bot's thick processor.
"Soundwave." Gears then says, expression more tense than it had previously been. "If you or those seekers have any shred of decency, you'll only monitor the audio of this next part."
Before Ratchet can make sense of those cryptic words, the familiar sound of transformation seams can be heard and light fills Teletran-1's display. The device the mini is using begins to adjust and the inner workings of a chassis are on full display.
The medic's entire frame freezes as he takes in the sight of two separate sparks.
Two…
How long had it been since Ratchet had last seen a newspark? Since the very beginning of the war, maybe?
Blaster never let the medic help him when he chose make a new cassette. Even Wheeljack requested to be alone when he gave life to the dinobots. Their desire for privacy probably due to programming unique to bots capable of splitting their sparks.
Anyways… It's a sight he never thought he would see again.
"Steady your servos and move closer." He instructs, and Gears does so.
As expected, the medic cannot do much from the Ark. A spark scanner would be far more helpful than a visual examination any day. The readings provided by Hook could no longer be dismissed.
A few clicks longer and Ratchet's seen enough, he tells his patient to close up.
"Now that you believe me," Gears says, "What am I supposed to do? If there's only one thing I remember about newsparks, it's that carriers claimed to be able to feel them. I feel nothing more than the its fluctuations. I'm not programmed for this!"
Always so paranoid…
"Just as with any other contact between sparks, carriers and their newsparks can project their thoughts and feelings to one another. It has nothing to do with programming. You must be in the earliest stages of the carrying process. The newspark will naturally figure out how to project to you soon enough." Ratchet does his best to assure him. "How long have you been feeling the little one's fluctuations?"
The long pause following the question has the medic assuming the worst. Luckily the minibot's hesitant answer puts a stop to those dreaded thoughts.
"It was… it was on my way to the Decepticon raid." Gears mutters almost too quietly for the larger mech to hear.
At least it wasn't after the mini had become the enemy's prisoner.
The medic hums lightly, stating, "It takes a pretty long merge to build up the energy to form a newspark…. Is there a bondmate we should be worried about?"
"No, no… We didn't have enough time to form a bond."
Oh.
"But you were trying." Ratchet surmised with a long exasperated vent. "Did it ever occur in that thick processor of yours to consult your medic before attempting a bond?"
While most injuries the ambulance dealt with never breach the spark chamber, he still needed to know all the specifics of his patients' sparks. A newly formed bond could break quite easily if the pair involved are separated for an extended period of time.
"Well, it wouldn't have changed anything! I'm here and he's there, but even if I was back at the Ark, I doubt it would be safe to merge while there's a newspark in my chassis!"
It still would have changed things. Ratchet could have excused them from duties of high risk until their bond had the proper time to settle. Kept them from having to stop and accept the call to rally against the Decepticons' latest raid. However, since the minibot needs to remain calm, the CMO will put off that rant for later…. Or for the sire.
"That doesn't excuse that you and…?"
Gears's frown becomes all the more bitter. "With our current audience, I'd rather not say."
Ah. No telling what the Cons may do if they know who the sire is.
"Fine." The medic relents (positive the sire would reveal himself soon enough anyways) "I would still like to be given a heads up next time, understand?"
The mini agrees with a soft nod, but his expression is unreadable… which makes sense. He's usually a calm mech in serious situations, and doesn't want to show too much to their unwanted listeners.
After a quiet pause, the stout mech shifts a little uncomfortably.
"The seekers… they won't leave me alone."
"No doubt." Ratchet actually chuckles (much to his patient's annoyance) "I didn't even consider that. You're probably in good servos as long as you stick with a seeker."
"Great. Just…. Fantastic." Gears mutters.
Despite the mini's apparent misery, the fact so many seekers with coding primed to care for a newspark and its carrier made up a large portion of his captors helps put the medic at ease somewhat.
The ambulance leans back from the monitor.
"You know," Ratchet says, "I will have to report all this to Prime, understand?"
A defeated groan sounds over the transmission.
Note: I'm never sure how to end each chapter. Anyways, I'm gonna take a break from this for a little while.