10 Days after contact [Standard Shipboard Time]...
The Enterprise had been slowly recovering from an unforeseen sock that none had expected.
After all it wasn't exactly everyday you came across an ancient alien spacecraft adrift in Frontier Space with a recording that threw everything you once knew about history, especially when it regarded your species' origin, out the nearest airlock.
And yet in that small amount of time something else was stirring aboard the vessel that would rattle the Enterprise once again. Less than the recording, but still rattle it nonetheless.
"Fury, we've been sitting on our afts for nine solar cycles now. What are we doing here?"
The mentioned Fury turned to his fellow Mini-Con and merely sighed. Soundjaw lived up to his name more often than he cared to admit. As one of the few aboard that had an organic based alt mode that he coined as a 'beast mode,' Fury could understand Soundjaw's more...aggressive nature to a point. But even this was a bit much.
"Soundjaw cool your combustors and analyze the situation before us. You know as well as I do what the standard O-P is in this instance. First worry is the Cons. We were lucky enough that Sub-Commander was able to save all our chassis and the worst thing that happened to her was a scratch on her -"
Soundjaw just snarled and cut him off with a furious swipe through the air with his wrist mounted tri claw before closing his fist at his side and trembling slightly while getting in close, bumping his helm against Fury's.
All the others turned as their sensors registered the rise in cabin temperature. A few cringed, some moved closer to pull Shadowjaw back when he lunged, still others actually seemed eager to see the action between their two senior First Officers as the work on restoring systems stopped altogether.
"I know the S-O-P you first class crankshaft! And you do not have to preach to me how she saved all our lives, especially when it was my fault they found us in the first place! All I want to know is that after all that we've done to ensure our safety, can't we at least raise comms with them?"
Fury actually paused to process that thought as his optics locked on the oddly complicated craft that Soundjaw had waved to, drifting in front of them. It wasn't often but every other solar cycle Soundjaw did raise valid opinions. Turning back to the still fuming Soundjaw, Fury eased him back with a firm press to his front.
"And how would you propose we do that, without shocking the crew more so than we already have?"
Soundjaw felt some of his internal working grind for a moment at the honest question without a trace of any condescending mock. Had Fury, the calm, logical and overall leader when the Sub-Commander was in alt mode just asked him for his opinion?
"Can this solar cycle get an weider?"
He muttered offhand. A nano-click past before he felt a solid backhand from behind and he turned to growl at Hitch.
As one of the femmes that had escaped the fall of Cybertron with them she was as tough and iron-willed a bot now as the third ranking First Officer after himself and Fury, as she was when she once worked as both an architect and a builder.
"Well fearless leader, how do we talk to them?"
Soundjaw wisely swallowed his growl and absently rubbed the front of his faceplates as he thought on her question.
He never forgot the time where his voice box had gotten her so aggravated with him that she had walked up and outright headbutted him before resuming her scheduled maintenance repairs. He'd gone to Depthfeather, a fellow 'beast,' to get that dent fixed before the backflow of energon burst and mixed with his internal combustors in a rather explosive fashion.
He mentally shook himself out of his reverie and turned to Maniac at the comms-station. Remembering how he aggravated Hitch gave his processor the beginning workings of an idea and he would jump on it. He'd work out the details as they occurred but if they so much as twitched wrong he'd give the command to Grindwhip to aim and destroy the other vessel.
He would not risk the Sub-Commander, not again.
"Broadcast a universal greeting on all frequencies Maniac, include all the low level ones too. If it can carry a signal, get a fix and send it. Make sure to encrypt."
As Maniac nodded and set about doing so on his terminal with lightning speed, Soundjaw turned to Fury and gave an accepting bow while stepping aside.
"Just because we don't see any Cons on the scan doesn't mean they aren't hiding somewhere out there."
Fury nodded and turned to the screen as they all waited, previous tasks and excitement forgotten, replaced by anxious nerves. Time to see if anyone was still aware enough on board to answer them.
Shadowjaw stood on his left, while Hitch took his right as Maniac continued the broad spectrum sweep.