Temerity
Part 8-Friction
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro and Takara. I am merely taking them for a short spin.
"Sometimes solutions aren't so simple,
Sometimes good bye's the only way."
--Shadow of the Day, Linkin Park
Temerity-Unreasonable contempt of danger; extreme venturesomeness; rashness.
Ratchet checked the monitors again, satisfied Hot Rod was stable. Again. He nodded to Prowl, glad the other mech volunteered to stay and keep an eye on their patient. Prowl proved to be an adept assistant--steady hands and his cool logic kept him calm, but what Ratchet hoped was the final round of repairs for a very long time had been relatively routine. But their findings were not.
The medic made his way from the shuttle, through ops, which was quickly looking more like it should because of the construction going on and toward Prime's office. Ratchet didn't knock, instead walked on in, dropping himself into the chair across from Prime's desk.
Prime looked up from his work, raising an optic ridge.
"I take it the repairs went well?" he said.
"It just took longer than I expected," Ratchet said. "We ran many scans."
"And?"
"Hot Rod's processor wasn't just tampered with," Ratchet said. "It was modified. We found five alterations."
"Meaning?" Prime asked.
"One was located in his memory core, another affecting his communications center. The other three are located in the central processor itself. All very fine, almost imperceptible changes. Their function is unknown," Ratchet said.
"Could they have been repairs from before?" Prime asked.
"He had no processor damage from the prior. . .incident," Ratchet said. "The brunt of his injuries were to his laser core. His chest was crushed, whether from an impact or a fall was never discerned. He was shot several times, and he nearly lost an arm. His injuries were so bad he couldn't transform. How he managed to walk out of the Maze in that condition, I'll never know."
"Modifications aside, are his other injuries repaired?"
"I rebuilt his left shoulder, reinforced his right knee until the armor can finish regenerating itself and fixed two of the fingers on his left hand, which lacked a full range of motion. His motor functions have been fully restored because Prowl helped me remove the coding we used to put him in stasis. Also, his auto repair protocols are working on repairing the damage to the redundant systems that were burned out. Barring any setbacks, he should be out of the med bay as early as tomorrow," Ratchet said. "However, I caution against putting him into the duty rotation anytime soon, but there is no reason why he can't go ahead and take an Earth mode. It will give him something to do, and adapting to a new form will help rehab his injuries."
"Did the scans reveal what caused the burns?"
"No."
"Anything else to report?"
"Yes. I talked at length with him this morning before the procedure and he said he has no memory of what happened to the Vector," Ratchet said.
"Do you believe him?"
"Considering the shape we found him in, he's lucky to be alive. A few missing memories I'm not concerned about, at least not right now. However, it could be a potential problem if he pushes himself too hard to try and remember."
"This is Hot Rod we're talking about," Prime said.
"I know that all too well," Ratchet said.
"You should try and get some rest," Optimus said, rising. "Kup just called me to ops. I'll let you know if it's anything interesting."
"Rest? What's that?"
Prime patted his friend on the shoulder as he passed.
--
"I'm picking up a transmission," Kup said. He hit a few buttons on the console, stared in disbelief, looking at the screen. "It's a message--from the Valor."
"Put it through," Optimus said.
Kup smiled, seeing a familiar green mech on screen.
". . .and if you don't get your aft out of my face, I'll remove it for you. . .huh? Kup, that you? And is that Prime beside you?" "Last time I looked, yes," Kup said. "It's been a long time, Springer."
Springer looked back over his shoulder, annoyed, then looked back at the screen.
"Sorry. Our reception's kind of bad because SOMEBODY had to use the main screen to watch one of those horrible Earth shows we've been picking up for days now. . .and I hope you don't mind the language, either, because Perceptor said it would be 'beneficial' for the crew to learn," Springer said. "Sorry, can you wait a minute?"
They heard the sound of crashing metal, followed by a yelp, then yelling. ". . .shut up Percy! I mean it. . .NO! 'Jack, by the Allspark if you try it, I'll put you out an airlock myself. . ."
"Everything all right?" Prime asked, glancing at Kup, who was trying not to laugh.
"It's been a very weird few days," Springer said, appearing back on screen. "I've got Trailbreaker, Perceptor, Wheeljack, Smokescreen, Hoist and Grapple with me. We're having a hard time with the fusion drive, so we've cut back to sublight speed. And I have no idea how long it's going to take us to get there."
"Have Prowl see if he can work it out with Perceptor and Wheeljack. Let us know if you need anything else," Prime said.
"Wait--who all is there with you? It'd be nice to know who's there besides the three of you," Springer said.
"Jazz, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide, Bluestreak, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Hot Rod," Prime said.
"Rodi? Rodi's there? I thought he was.. ."
"No, he's here and doing fine," Kup said, glancing at Prime.
"Good. Look, I guess we'll get there when we get there. Hold on, I almost forgot--we've been detecting some strange movements in the debris field surrounding the Sol system. Size and mass consistent with Cybertronian protoforms, moving very fast, with a trajectory bearing no similarities to any of the cometary bodies we've mapped. I don't think it's any of ours, so you should be on the lookout," Springer said.
-----
Mikaela shielded her eyes against the setting sun, pulled her jacket closer. She heard the roar of an unfamiliar engine, figuring it was one of the twins, but it didn't sound right. This sound was loud, raw and a little angry. She smiled, seeing Hot Rod's new form. He'd picked the latest version of the Dodge Challenger, Hemi orange, with black rally stripes. He transformed to his bipedal mode, kneeling down to get a better look at the girl.
"What do you think?" Hot Rod asked.
"I like it. It suits you," Mikaela said. "Not too flashy, but certain to turn heads. And the color is nice. Different."
"Yeah, unlike a couple of twins I could name," Hot Rod said. "I can still kick their afts any day.""Don't let Ratchet hear you say that," Mikaela said.
"I'm recuperating, not crazy," Hot Rod replied.
"Well, the twins seem. . .uh. . ." Sam said, coming over.
"Unbalanced?" Hot Rod suggested.
"I was going to say interesting, but that works, too," Sam said.
"So, you're the one that destroyed Megatron," Hot Rod said.
"Yeah. . ." Sam said, glancing at Mikaela.
"I'm glad you're on our side," Hot Rod said, smiling.
"Thanks, I think," Sam said.
"Kup said your best friend is on the ship that's coming?" Mikaela said.
"Yeah. His name is Springer." "What's he like?"
"Big, green, easy-going," Hot Rod said.
"That's some description," Sam said.
Hot Rod shrugged. "You asked."
"He's right," Sam said. "We did ask. . ."
Hot Rod pulled back, rising to his full height.
"I think I'm gonna go for a drive," he said, transforming.
Mikaela glanced at Sam, biting her lip.
"He's not supposed to be doing that, is he?" Sam said, watching Hot Rod racing down the road away from base.
--
No, he was supposed to be taking it easy, although Ratchet's definition differed drastically from his. Hot Rod was driving below the speed limit, trying to comply with "easy." He needed to be alone, to try and get his head together, but at the same time, he didn't want to be alone. He could've stayed on base, as ordered, in his newly assigned quarters, resting. But no, couldn't do it. He finally had a chance to take back a bit of control over his own life, and he wasn't about to waste his first opportunity.
:I want to talk to you:
Ironhide. Great.
:About what?:
:Don't play games with me:
:I'm not.:
:Then meet with me:
Ironhide commed him a set of coordinates. Hot Rod kept going for a few more miles before turning around.
I hope I don't regret this, he thought.
--
He'd forgotten how big Ironhide was in relation to his own size. And maybe agreeing to talk with him was a bad idea. Plus he had only one weapon--his saw blade. Ratchet decided it wasn't a good idea yet to online his weapons systems because they weren't fully repaired yet. But according to the others, against Ironhide, his blade would be enough if needed, because the other Autobot was looking very grim.
"I have some questions I want to ask," Ironhide said. "But I'm sure you already knew that."
"Maybe," Hot Rod said. "Ask away."
"What happened onboard the Vector?"
"I'm not at liberty to say," Hot Rod said.
"What happened to her?"
"I don't remember," Hot Rod replied.
"That is not the answer I wanted to hear," Ironhide said.
"I can't remember. Isn't that good enough?" Hot Rod said. "Can't, or won't?" Ironhide asked.
"Why can't you just believe me?"
"Because I know you're lying," Ironhide said.
"Why would I lie? One of my best friends was on that ship with me. And since I've been here, on this planet, not a day's gone by when I haven't wondered about what happened," Hot Rod said. "But worrying and wondering won't bring any of them back. And you know it, too."
Hot Rod met the bigger mech's optics.
"I know he was angry at you--choosing loyalty over duty, but he said he forgave you," Hot Rod said.
"Again, you lie."
"I'm not lying. We didn't always see eye to eye, he and I, but there at the end, at least, he earned my respect, and I his trust," Hot Rod said.
Ironhide stood silent a few seconds, Hot Rod waited, hoping the black mech was through. But from the look of resolve and anger on his face, he knew Ironhide wasn't done with him yet.
"There were rumors a traitor was on that ship," Ironhide said. "Was it you?" "It wasn't me," Hot Rod said. "But I could give you names, if you want them, but you'd never believe me."
"So you admit there was a traitor," Ironhide said.
"Why deny the truth?" Hot Rod said.
"Why were you on the Vector?" "Again, I can't tell you that," Hot Rod said.
"You could, if you wanted," Ironhide said. "Or do you not remember?"
"I've told you what I know," Hot Rod said.
"You haven't told me anything. And stalling isn't going to buy you time. I'll have answers now or later. It doesn't matter, but you could save yourself the trouble if you'd just tell me what I want to know," Ironhide said.
"You're a bastard, you know that?"
Ironhide hit him.
Hot Rod shook his head, sitting back up, trying to shake off the blow. He spit out the energon pooling in his mouth, making sure to land it on Ironhide.
"You know, I always wondered what you two saw in each other. . .wonder what he'd say if he could see us now?"
Ironhide raised his fist again, but stopped. The look in Hot Rod's optics gave him pause--a mixture of defiance, anger and something else.
"You can't imagine what I've been through, what I've done. . ." Hot Rod said.
"Then enlighten me."
"Go to hell."
-----
Hot Rod came to in the med bay. His head felt fuzzy, worse than usual, which seemed to be his normal state since coming to Earth. Kup was standing over him, watching.
"You feeling all right, lad?" Kup asked, concern in his optics.
Hot Rod started to sit up, Kup reaching out to help him.
"I think I need to lay back down," Hot Rod said.
Kup eased him back.
"Prime's pretty ticked off," Kup said.
"At who?"
"You, for disobeying orders, and Ironhide for well, it should be obvious," Kup said.
"He only hit me once, I think," Hot Rod said.
"Lad. . ."
"OK, my head hurts, a little. But I'll be fine," Hot Rod said.
-----
Elsewhere, things were not fine. Ironhide knew he was getting ready for a lecture, because Prime was just getting warmed up. Thankfully, they were at the lookout, where there was no one to overhear.
"If you provoke Hot Rod again, I won't stand in his way," Prime said. "You're just lucky his weapons were offlined. Because if you try it again, I will finish the job myself."
Ironhide stepped back, an unfamiliar feeling causing his spark to clench in his chest, his energon ran cold. Fear. It lasted only a second, but it was long enough to bring up an old impulse, one he thought was buried deep. Irrational, but it was still there. The one that reminded him why his friend was Prime, and that he was also the twin brother of Megatron.
"It would be fitting if you did," Ironhide said. "Betrayal and murder seem to run in the family."
Prime frowned.
"I know you didn't mean that," he said, backing down.
Ironhide shrugged. Prime decided to try a different tactic, grabbing his friend by the shoulders.
"Please 'Hide, let this go. Hot Rod doesn't remember, and Ratchet said there's a good chance he might, given time. And the fact that he's here means there could be other survivors. Consider that, take it to heart. Because there could still yet be hope," Prime said.
Optimus felt the tension drain from his friend's frame.
"I hope you're right," Ironhide said.