Primal Hunter
by: Takashidaimao
Chapter 4: Crossing the Line
Dinobot let out a groan as his optics came online. Rather than being blinded by the morning sun peering through the canyon as he'd expected, he instead found himself staring up at the ceiling in his quarters, two blackened divots reminiscent of his first night with Optimus. He made a mental note to at least cover those up later. The last thing he needed right now was Rhinox peeking into his room and finding more senseless damage to the ship. The warrior gave another tired grunt as he propped himself up, his body seeming several times heavier to him at the moment. "Computer; Diagnostics." He grumbled under his breath, resting a hand against his brow plates.
"Unable to comply. Diagnostic systems; offline." It took the computer considerably longer to respond than usual, but the message itself was what worried Dinobot. "'Offline?' Explain." The raptor snarled out. Again, it was a few seconds before he got his reply. "Data Unpack in progress. Preparing to reconfigure systems. All non-essential functions have been shutdown." Since when were his diagnostic systems considered non-essential functions? And what was this about 'data unpack' and 'reconfiguration'? Wait… Could this have something to do with the message he'd gotten during his link with Optimus last night? 'Download complete'… And just what in the blazing fires of the Pit could he have downloaded from Primal?
As Dinobot went to crawl out of bed he was stopped. The Maximal leader was in sleep mode, his head resting against arms folded across the edge of the raptors bed. The warrior vented a sigh, shaking his head. Had that stubborn ape been sitting there all night? A rhetorical question. Of course he had. Dinobot decided there was no need to inform the commander of his current situation, giving himself the excuse that he needed his rest. Really he was just hoping to delay Optimus' plan of telling the others about their relationship, still not terribly fond of the idea. Besides, as he recalled he had an assault on a Predacon mining operation to plan for.
It was an hour later when the commander finally wandered out to the bridge. Rhinox, Rattrap, and Cheetor were at their usual stations, Airazor and Tigatron on patrol as they preferred. Rattrap was noticeably avoiding Dinobots optics, the latter standing at the large circular table behind their chairs reviewing holographic projections of three dimensional maps. Optimus made his way casually over to where the warrior stood, leaning over the table as if to review the situation with him. Instead he leaned in closer to the raptor as to speak without being overheard. "You okay?" he asked in a low tone, concern apparent in his voice. Dinobot let out a low rumble, his optics scanning over his comrades for signs of eavesdropping.
"I am experiencing some… Lag. It is nothing to be concerned about, however." He admitted once he was sure no one was prying. He'd have liked to lie and say he was fine, but in his current state he knew Optimus would see right through it. The commander vented a sigh, shaking his head. "You scared the slag out of me last night. I'd thought you'd gone into stasis lock, but your diagnostics said you were just in sleep mode." Dinobot let out a scoff at that. At least his diagnostics were working last night. The ape narrowed his optics, having mistaken the raptors scoff for a dismissal of the subject. "I'm not going to take any chances. You could have internal system damage from the energon surges. I'm going to have Rhinox check you out before-""NO!"
The sudden outburst grabbed the interest of everyone present. Optimus narrowed his optics again, giving the raptor a look of warning as covertly as he could. Dinobot took a quick glance around at everyone that now stared up at him. He immediately returned his attention to the commander. "That is a highly undesirable strategy. To approach in such a manner would surely give away our position before we're ready to strike." The raptor hissed out through gritted teeth, putting emphasis on key words so that Optimus would be sure to understand their true meaning. The ape glanced past the warrior in time to catch Rattrap give a shudder of disgust at their conversation before quickly turning around to return to work. What he didn't catch was how Rhinox had taken notice of the rat's unusual reaction. The science officer gave a thoughtful glare at the two quarreling bots. "Then… Perhaps later in the, uhh… mission." Optimus replied trying to keep within the theme of their discussions camouflage. "Much later…" the warrior growled in reply.
At that the Maximal leader decided to drop the subject, feeling they had garnered too much attention already to continue in public. Dinobot was grateful, as it allowed him to return to genuinely planning for the battle ahead. His concentration remained there only a moment, as nearly every sensor in his body seemed to go off at once. He clenched his jaw to prevent from shouting, his talons digging into the edge of the table until the warning signals slowly dissipated. Thankfully this managed to stay beyond the notice of the other three Maximals at their stations, but Optimus was still right next to him. The commander leaned in close once more. "Are you sure you're okay?" he demanded over a whisper, giving the raptor one last chance to come clean on his own. Stubbornness would shun the opportunity however, as he gave a typical reply. "I'm fine." He managed to hiss out before another wave of pain betrayed his lie. This time it was strong enough to bring the mighty warrior to his knees.
It took a moment for his systems to supply a warning, as was typical since that morning. "Data unpack complete. Initializing system reconfiguration." Dinobot let out a growl that was a little more pained than he'd have liked. "What reconfiguration? Override, blast you!" he roared out before Optimus pulled him back up to his feet. The response to his command came just as Rhinox jumped up from his station. "Unable to comply." Not that he expected anything different, but it was worth a shot.
"Get him into the lab." Rhinox instructed as he rushed past the two. Optimus was tempted for a moment to argue that the CR chamber would be the better choice, but he got the feeling the science officer may already know what was wrong given his behavior. He was just thankful that now there'd be no more excuses for not telling at least the rhinoceros what was going on, as he was convinced it was the mysterious data transfer from last night that was causing it. Dinobot seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as he then forced himself from the commander's grasp. "This is none of your business!" he growled before having to brace himself against the edge of the table as another agonizing wave hit his sensors. Rhinox grabbed the stubborn bot by the upper arm and pulled him up to optic level, being the only one of the Maximals of greater stature to do so. "Lab. Now." He reiterated sternly before starting off towards the ships labs with the raptor in tow.
"H-hey!" Optimus shouted suddenly as the science officer grabbed him behind the neck, dragging him unceremoniously behind like a child about to be punished. The two were tossed into a connecting room, the door slammed shut behind. Cheetor and Rattrap were left standing in the now silent bridge, the two of them staring intently at the lab door as if it were to offer them some explanation of what they just witnessed. Finally, after what seemed like ages of awkward pause, Rattrap spoke up. "Well… That happened." He commented before casually strolling towards his assigned console, plopping back into his chair as if nothing happened. Cheetor stared for a moment more with mouth agape before his processor eventually seemed to click back online. "What in the pit was all that about?" the feline questioned, looking towards the other bot for answers. "Don't know. Don't wanna know. Wouldn't care if I did know." the rat replied quickly, trying to keep his focus on the screen in front of him as much as possible. This earned a glare from the young scout. "Rattrap!" Cheetor scolded, folding arms over chest plate. The shorter bot turned around in his chair. "Look kid, for reasons I can't get into right now, anything involving those twois something I don't wanna touch with a ten-foot pole. Capiche?"
Optimus picked himself up off the floor just as the lab door was sealed. He let out an aggravated grumble as he brushed himself off. Being dragged and tossed around like that… Last time he checked, hewas commander of the crew! Still, he supposed that was a discussion that had to wait. Dinobot had recovered by that time and despite his condition looked more than willing to put up a fight to get out of there. The raptor made a lunge for the door with a vicious snarl. Optimus was too late to jump in front of him to stop his escape, but it seemed it wasn't necessary. As the Saurian scrambled to disengage the locks Rhinox slipped behind him, jabbing a small device into the side of the distracted bots neck. The warrior spat out an enraged hiss before his optics blinked offline, his body falling limp into the science officer's arms.
Rhinox vented out the breath he'd been holding before carrying the unconscious soldier over to the examination table. "Well, that went a little better than I thought it would." He commented before getting to work, first booting up the labs diagnostic computer. Optimus stared down at Dinobot for a long moment, his brow plates furrowed in thought. "Was that really necessary?" he questioned as Rhinox hooked two wires into ports in the back of the raptors neck. "I dunno about you, but personally I happen to be fond of how my vital circuits are arranged at the moment." The commander shook his head at that.
"He wasn't that mad. I could have calmed him down." The science officer vented a sigh as he stared at the computer screen, optics scanning intently. "I'd have to agree with you on that one. Problem is, it's not his current behavior that I'm worried about, it's his reaction to what I hope I don't have to tell him." Optimus looked up to stare at the back of the large bot. What was that supposed to mean? Was it really that bad? Before he got the chance to ask Rhinox slammed a fist down on the console. "Slag! I was hoping forcing him into stasis lock would at least delay it!" At that point the commander felt it necessary to see the diagnosis for himself. Unfortunately most of the details were covered up by the large 'Reconfiguration Complete' message now flashing across the entire screen. "'Reconfiguration?' For what purpose?" The question was met by a pair of stern optics. "What?"
"Oh, don't play dumb with me!" Rhinox roared, jumping up to his feet. Optimus had to take a step back for fear of being knocked back by the large bot, his optics staring wide up in shock. The science officer vented another heavy sigh before settling back down in his chair, a hand massaging his forehead. "Optimus… Honestly, how long have we known each other? You know you can't keep a secret from me for long." The Maximal leader could feel his spark skip a pulse at that. He looked off to the side, unsure of how to respond. Rhinox shook his head before offering one more push at the subject. "I know what you and Dinobot have been doing." Optimus vented a sigh; his last resistance it seemed before it all came spilling out.
"We were… interfacing down at the bottom of the canyon last night. Towards the end I got an alert that something was successfully uploaded, but that was the first I heard about any kind of data transfer. Then he just went offline and I couldn't wake him up again. He seemed okay this morning, but just before this started he'd complained about some lag in his systems." Rhinox listened in silence as Optimus explained, nodding knowingly at the conclusion. He then stood from his seat, walking over to where Dinobot lay on the examination table. "'Primes' never cease to amaze me. They got access codes and latent programs most bots wouldn't daredream up…" At that Optimus took the opposite spot next to the table across from the science officer. "What do you mean?"
At this point Rhinox felt it better to show the Maximal leader than tell him. He pressed a button on one of the side panels on the exam table, activating a sort of manual override for Dinobots systems. The raptors torso plates split open exposing his bare spark as well as something else. A second chamber just below his spark had formed, its surface a seemingly delicate and thin metal. Optimus didn't understand at first, though the vastly alien structure in the warrior's abdomen didn't do much to stem his concern. Suddenly there was a dull flash of light behind the slightly transparent surface of the chamber. Then another, a bit brighter that time. After a third the pale blue light remained steady. Focusing his optics Optimus could just barely see a tiny orb of energy the size of a marble hovering in the center of the chamber. No way…
"Th-that can't be what I think it is!" the commander exclaimed, wide optics staring up at his old friend. Rhinox nodded his head slowly in confirmation. "It's a spark."
Optimus never thought a bot could laugh so hard he literally rolled around on the floor, but hey… he'd been wrong before. The commander waited patiently with arms folded across chest plate, a single digit tapping against his forearm. Rattrap was in absolute hysterics to the point that he risked overheating his circuits. He'd laughed so hard it was interfering with his formulation of a proper wise crack. "Choppaface! Ahahahaha! With you! Hahahaha! Havin' a kid? Pffftahahahahaha! Karma! KARMAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!" This continued for several more minutes until finally Rattrap was able to compose himself enough to crawl over to the nearest work station and drag himself up to his feet. "Y'know, when I said we could use an extra Maximal or two, this ain't exactly what I meant! Ahahahaha!" Cheetor, who had been stuck in a moment of utter bewilderment, looked up at the ape. "Does this mean I'm not the youngest anymore?" Optimus couldn't help but let out a chuckle at that one.
"Hate ta burst yer bubble there kid, but yer still at tha bottom of tha totem pole. Whaddaya think Rhinox is doin' right now? Prolly in there 'deletin' the li'l light bulb as we speak. Course, that don't mean I'm ever gonna let Dino-breath live this one down. " Rattrap explained once his laughing fits subsided for good. He then looked to their fearless leader for confirmation only to be shot down with a stern glare. The rat's tune never changed so fast in his life. "Whoah no… No no no no no…" he stammered out, holding a defensive index finger up towards the ape. One more glare was all it took for the rat to go ballistic. "Oh, fer bootin' up cold! You can't seriously be thinking about keepin' it!" he shrieked out, earning a sigh from Optimus.
"'Thinking about it' suggests that I haven't already made a decision." He replied in as calm a tone as he could manage at the moment. Unfortunately the rat couldn't muster such restraint. "Are you outta yer mind? I dunno if ya noticed, but we're kinda in tha middle of a war here! And as much as I hate ta admit it, we can't afford ta have Lizard Lips of all bots on tha sidelines fer two slaggin' months!" Well, at least two months was better than what most organics had to go through. Still, Rattrap raised a valid point. "Look, I know the circumstances are anything but ideal, but there's nothing we can do at this point. It's already formed a spark. It's alive. I'm against killing of any kind, especially if I'm the one responsible for it having been given life in the first place."
Rattrap vented a heavy sigh, collapsing into one of the monitor station chairs. Yeah, that's what he was afraid he'd say. More or less. Finally, after another long moment of awkwardness, it was Cheetor who asked the question that I'm sure is burning in everyone's mind. "So… How's Dinobot taking all this?" Optimus immediately looked away at that, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, about that…. He, uhh… He hasn't exactly been told yet. Rhinox is supposed to be waking him up now so I can talk it over with him. He had to be sedated or he'd-"
"I'M WHAAAAAAAAT?"
Optimus cringed as the ferocious roar echoed through the command deck. The ape gave a shudder of dread before continuing. "Correction; he's not taking it well." It was about that moment that the lab door flew open, a distressed Rhinox rushing out. An absolutely livid Dinobot could be seen lunging after the science officer before the door was slammed shut in his face. Once the labs emergency quarantine lockdown was activated the large bot vented a sigh of relief. "Well, that went a little better than I thought it would…" he grumbled out with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. The sounds that came from inside the lab were akin to those in horror movies. The thought didn't exactly fill the Maximal leader with confidence. "I'd better go in there before he tears the ship to shreds…" Optimus announced as reluctantly as ever. Suddenly, he felt a reassuring hand slap down on his shoulder. Glancing down he came face to face, much to his surprise, with Rattrap.
"So, Boss Monkey… You want red or white roses at your funeral?" The commander slapped a hand over his eyes, shaking his head. That'll teach him to expect words of encouragement from Rattrap. He let out a heavy sigh. "Never did care for roses. I'm quite partial to lilies though…" he groaned out as he approached the door, overriding the quarantine locks. Who was he kidding? He was about to be torn to pieces. Still, it had to be done. The door was only open an instant, just long enough for Optimus to slip through before slamming it shut again. The other three, as was the norm lately, were left in silence. That is, until Rattrap felt the need to activate his vocal processors.
"Alright, takin' all bets! Boy or girl?" the rat announced with a chuckle. Cheetor stared at him for a moment. "Wait a minute… Just a second ago you were acting as if it was the end of the world! What gives?" the feline questioned, narrowing optics in suspicion. "Hey, I'm just tryin' ta be… Supportive." Hell, why not? It was clear Optimus wasn't budging on the subject. He may as well just roll with it. Of course, his attempt at playing nice guy for once was thwarted by Rhinox. "Supportive for your wallet maybe…" he interjected gruffly. Rattrap merely shrugged his shoulders in his defense. The science officer shook his head, venting a sigh. "Fifty creds says it's a girl…" He added, giving in to the rat's games in the end.
The instant Optimus stepped through the threshold of the lab he was grabbed by the shoulders by a pair of strong taloned hands. The commander soon found himself with his back pressed against the side of the examination table, razor-sharp teeth bared just inches from his face. "Terminate it! NOW!" Dinobot roared out, his grip tightening in anger. Optimus managed to wrestle one of his arms free to brace against the chest plate of the warrior, keeping him at bay. "I'm not doing that and you know it!" he shouted back, earning an irate hiss. "Were it you in my position, you-""Wouldn't change my mind on the matter in the slightest!"
The shouting match seemed to come to a stop there. Dinobot glared into Optimus' optics as if trying to decide weather to continue arguing or just get it over with and gut him. He chose neither. The raptor released his hold on the ape, taking a step back as he hung his head, staring towards the ground. "It is not for a warrior to… carry a child…" he argued weakly in little more than a whisper. Optimus let out a sigh, closing the gap that had opened up between the two of them. "I know… And I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen. If I'd known it was even possible, I'd have taken more precautions to prevent it." Dinobot remained silent for a long moment, contemplating the commander's words. Feeling that he was actually getting somewhere, Optimus prepared to continue trying to convince the raptor to just accept what had happened. He was interrupted by Rattrap's voice sounding over the ships intercom. "Sorry ta break up what I'm sure is a touching family moment or somethin', but… Tigatron's on tha coms. Says it's urgent." Great. Right at the worst possible time. Optimus returned his attention to the raptor momentarily. "We'll discuss this properly later. For now you should probably stay in here until you've had a chance to think about this a bit more." The warrior merely nodded, stepping to the side to allow the commander to pass.
Optimus activated his communicator as he left the labs, leaving the door unlocked for Dinobot to exit whenever he chose. "Optimus to Tigatron; what's the situation?" he droned out, his mind still on other things. Tigatron's reply sounded rushed, an unusual tinge of impatience in the bots voice. "The Preds are on the move. They've mined out a huge energon crystal and are rigging it for transport back to their base! Where are you? We were supposed to rendezvous almost an hour ago!" The commander vented a sigh. In all the excitement he'd completely forgotten about the mission. "Right, we're on our way. You heard him; move out!"
"Finally. I was beginning to fear we'd never get around to this." Optimus turned around just as Dinobot strode past him acting as if nothing had happened all day. When the hell did he slip out of the lab? Rhinox folded his arms across his chest plate, shaking his head. "And just where do you think you're going?" The question stopped the warrior dead in his tracks, a single brow plate raised as he turned to stare at the old science officer. "To battle." He reiterated, speaking as though it was the most obvious concept to grasp. "I don't think so!" Optimus scolded, earning a scoff from the raptor. "For what purpose would you have me remain here?" The question caused everyone to stop and stare at Dinobot as if he were mad. He couldn't have forgotten already! Optimus shook his head. "You can't be serious!"
"Hmph. Entirely serious. Most of my systems have returned to working order. I am fully capable normal combat operation. However, if I just so happened to, say… Accidentally take one of Scorponok's missiles to the midsection, well that would be quite unfortunate indeed. Oh, but rest assured; I do not intend to lose any sleep over such a loss, should it occur." The raptor explained all this as casually as one would comment on the weather. Optimus' hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides, his rising anger level apparent to everyone in the room. He couldn't decide which disgusted him more; That Dinobot cared so little for the infant spark he carried inside him, or that he actually planned on having it destroyed in battle. "That's it! I've had enough of this! I'm not letting you throw that protoform's life away just because you don't want it! You're not the only one that has a say in this! Or need I remind you who the father is?"
"Perhaps it is you who needs reminding!" Optimus was slightly taken aback as Dinobot shouted back at him. Honestly, he was hoping that instigating an argument that was best kept private would discourage the warrior from continuing this nonsense. Apparently he'd underestimated his stubbornness. "As a soldier under your command I may be obligated to follow your orders, but as your mate we stand on equal ground! You'll do well to remember those are boundaries not to be confused!" At that the shouting subsided, the two obstinate Maximals glaring at each other. Cheetor stepped forward to attempt to break the two up, but was stopped when Rhinox threw his arm up in front of him, shaking his head.
Eventually it was Optimus who seemed to give in, venting a sigh. "You're right…" he admitted, earning a victorious growl from the raptor. Of course, he wasn't done just yet. "Then as your commanding officer I'm ordering you, a soldier unfit for duty, to remain here at base!" he barked out firmly, folding arms over chest plate. Oh, the look on Dinobots face was absolutely priceless. It was like a combination of aghast horror mixed with murderous rage. Of course who could expect any different. 'Unfit for duty' was probably one of the worst insults one could say to a warrior as proud as Dinobot. Rattrap would have given anything to have a camera at that moment, but would settle for burning the image into his memory banks instead. Still, as amusing as he found it the rat valued his life higher, stepping behind Rhinox to shield himself from the explosion of fury sure to come. It never did.
"As you command…" Dinobot hissed out through clenched teeth, looking as though he'd just barely managed to hold himself back from mauling the commander. Optimus shook his head, motioning for the others to continue on to the Predacon mine as the raptor stormed off towards his quarters.
The mission went well, all things considering. The four Maximals filed into base victoriously, none having to go to the CR chamber. Still, that wouldn't stop them from complaining. "Hey, way to go with those slagging demo charges, Rattrap! Could ya set the fuse a little shorter next time? I like my fur singed evenly all over." Cheetor growled out, giving the shorter bot a swift punch in the arm. "Hey, whaddaya want from me? I had Tarantulus on my tail! Maybe if someone hadn't knocked up our muscle I'd have had enough cover fire ta be able ta set them longer!" The two bots froze immediately. Oops. Touchy subject. The two looked over to Optimus to see if they'd heard him. Of course he had. The commander vented out a sigh, shaking his head. "I'd better go talk to him…" Now that it was all said and done, Optimus felt terrible about how he spoke to Dinobot that morning. Still, a wave of dread overtook his processor for a moment, absolutely terrified at what he might find. As he started back towards the barracks Rattrap could be heard giving one more wise crack. "Lilies, right?"
Much to his surprise Optimus found Dinobot sitting at his desk in his room, seemingly looking over some old files on his external database. The raptor spoke as the ape entered, never turning to look at him. "It's still there, just so you know. I haven't done anything to it. Or do you need to check for yourself?" The commander let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "No, I trust you." He replied calmly. "Look, I just came to apologize for this morning. Some of the things I said were completely uncalled for." The warrior gave a low rumble of agreement as he turned in his chair to face Optimus. "You were… emotionally compromised. It is forgiven."
"I know you don't want to have to go through with this, but hear me out. I'll have Rhinox salvage the next intact stasis pod we find. Once the protoform can survive outside your body we'll keep it in stasis until we either find a way back to Cybertron or permanently deal with the Predacons. Until then, all I ask is that you try to keep it safe." Dinobot remained silent for a long moment, optics searching open space as he contemplated. Finally, he vented a heavy sigh. "I suppose I haven't a choice, do I?" Optimus smiled at that, leaning down and placing a soft kiss against the raptors lips. "Thank you."
With that Optimus turned to leave. Just as he passed through the doorway he glanced back at the warrior. "You know… I'm proud of you. I was sure you'd follow after us." Dinobot merely shook his head. "I was given an order by my commanding officer and I intend to obey…" The ape let out a chuckle before starting his way down the hall. The raptor waited until the other bot was out of earshot to continue. "Oh, but do be aware… A good commander always takes care to detail ones restrictions while confined to base." Suddenly there was the dull thud of an explosion coupled with the pained shout of the Maximal leader. Dinobot let out a satisfied chuckle as he returned to his work on the computer. "Now it is forgiven…"
Optimus was next seen marching out onto the bridge, fur charred to hell and several small holes in his hull visible. Rattrap heard their fearless leader grumbling something about a vindictive son of a bitch as he opened the CR chamber. This was about when Tigatron and Airazor returned to base from their patrol. "What happened to you? I thought no one took damage during the mission!" Airazor questioned in her usual soft tone. Optimus glared with narrowed optics at the two as he gave his answer. "Incendiary mine under my desk." He grumbled out through gritted teeth before climbing into the chamber. Airazor and Tigatron stared with wide optics as the chamber door closed. "What in the pit is going on?" Tigatron growled out. Rhinox leaned back in his chair shaking his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "I swear to Primus, if I survive the next two months… I'll kiss Megatron!" Unfortunately, the rhino forgot about his surroundings as he said that, a certain rat letting out a chuckle. "Just as long as ya don't interface with 'im!" At that the hawk and tiger both let out an appalled gasp at the obscene joke that had seemingly come out of nowhere. The science officer merely let out a groan, running hands down his tired face. "Walked right into that one…"
"Hey, uhh… Am I missing something?" Cheetor asked, being the only one in the room who didn't get the joke. Rattrap walked over to the young feline, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Look, kid… I think it's about time we had a li'l chat, bot to bot… No one ever gave you the 'Nuts and the Bolts' talk, did they?" At that Cheetor furrowed his brow plates before saying exactly what Rattrap hoped he wouldn't say. "What do nuts and bolts have to do with anything?" The shorter bot shook his head, covering his optics with his hand. "Oh boy…"