Ch. 202

"Power cells are charged," Ratchet smiled, flicking on a set of controls, "energon lines fed," he flicked another switch, "and all readings indicate that there are no signs of irreparable damage," the old mech's smile was turned behind him towards Optimus and Ultra Magnus, "Everything is operational. It's a flight worthy vessel at first glance."

Magnus's usually stern look dimmed with concern, "At first glance?" he repeated, "What does that mean?"

Ratchet sighed, "It is the angle of the impact that I am most wary of," he noted with a wide gesture around the room, "When the Ark fell, it crashed in such a way that the earth compacted around it, cushioning the damage it would have sustained. While this may seem like good news to start, it means that the readings I'm receiving from its sensors at the hull may be incorrect."

Optimus shuttered his optics in thought, "And if any cracks or problems are there it will also mean that we will not know about them until we find some way to free the Ark from this cavern."

The medic nodded, "Precisely," he allowed his servos to travel across the console's board as he accessed basic commands, "Furthermore, Knockout and Breakdown's energy scramblers can only dampen the Ark as it is now. Should we try any more advanced functions, say testing the engines, it could lead the Decepticons to us before we even have the chance to get into the air. If we are intending to use this vessel as our new base, we need to tread lightly and quickly to get it properly battle ready... as I'm sure we'll need it to be," he added with a grumble.

"Hey, no worries!" came a loud, but small voice as little footsteps dashed into the room, "You guys work harder than anyone else I know! You'll have this Auto-Ship ready in no time!"

"If only that were the case," Optimus smiled lightly, kneeling down to offer Miko a servo to sit in; he stood again, "This ship is not like Megatron's. The Nemesis was made for destruction. The Ark, however, was not."

Ultra Magnus stood beside Ratchet to search through the ship's archives, "I'm not familiar with this vessel. It doesn't appear to have any records or logs that are accessible in this state."

Ratchet shook his helm, "And it wouldn't. Standard protocol for research vessels: unless it is completely operational, research data collections and logs will be locked. Stops bothersome life forms from stealing data that isn't theirs."

Miko smirked, "Am I the bothersome life form?"

Ratchet made a playful face at her, but it didn't last; the pair looked upwards when Optimus sighed, "This is not the news I had hoped to hear... but it was needed regardless. We will have to move quickly. If it is unanimous decision, then we must board and engage this ship and have the Ark ready to fly as quickly as possible. I must also speak with Arcee and Soundwave."

Ultra Magnus made a noise, "Ah, yes. They've both been exploring just outside the hull for any signs of the previous crew. A ship this size needed at least a six bot team, even with automated systems. Where did they go?"

"Could there have been in a fire fight?" Miko asked, raising her hands like they were small pistols, "Having to blast their way out from a Decepticon ambush?"

Ratchet rolled his optics, "Oh puh-lease," he mumbled, "There's hardly any evidence of that. But we've been careful. We're not going to risk a repeat of the Cybonic Plague."

Miko frowned and crossed his arms, "Ok. Then where did they go?"

Soundwave let out a small noise of irritation as his tendrils traveled up the outsides of the hull, the sharper ends of his claws picking at the crust of organic life on the metal. Arcee watched with a mirror of his frustration on her faceplates and sighed, shaking her helm.

"It's like this all over," she murmured, "There's no way to get it all off and hope for a clean bill of health, is there?"

The mech beside her buzzed, "Chances of limited damage: ... slim," he responded simply; the normally numbers-oriented bot was learning that percentages, especially low ones outside of their favor, were not best to voice out loud, "Ability to repair most damages due to crash: 89%."

Arcee smirked, "Alright, so even if there's some problems, looks like we can fix them. Thanks 'Wave. Good to know."

Soundwave nodded to her lightly and retracted his tentacles, perking when Laserbeak trilled somewhere high above them. The symbiote was ducking and weaving through the upper part of the cavern, its flight pattern bringing it through hanging roots from trees on the surface, but it was paying special attention to an area close to the ship. Arcee's optics narrowed.

"Soundwave, is everything alright?" she transformed out a blaster, "Trouble?"

The mech shook his helm slowly and balanced his arms as he ran forward. His visor was trained on a mound of dirt that Laserbeak was beginning to close in on. Arcee followed, still unsure of the situation. Soundwave rarely ran anywhere unless it was pertinent.

The femme's optics were observing the landscape around them as the mech knelt down to scrape into the dirt, his claws being delicate. Laserbeak hovered lower before landing, beating its small wings to help brush leaves and debris out of Soundwave's way.

"Hey," Arcee frowned, her stance still stiff as she waited for any unwanted surprises, "'Wave, did you find something? What are you doing?"

After a moment the mech stood, clutching something small, cylindrical and made of metal in his servos.

"Laserbeak: has discovered insights into previous occupants," he informed her, "Personal data drives recovered. Previous owner of drives labeled: Brainstorm."