Chapter 13: Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I own only the oc's, plot, and setting.

'Last time, on "Survival":

Miko crouched at the opening of the hatch in shock, unable to process that her supply of oxygen was leaking into space, even as something warm trickled down her back.

Bulkhead thundered towards the airlock, scooping his injured partner up into his arms. "Jackie! Call Magnus!"'

Colony 21186D: H-Deck

Sirens blared, and a hurricane of activity filled the hallway. The world spun in vivid hues of red before Miko's eyes as they pulled her out of the armor. The ringing in her ears eclipsed the babble of concerned voices.

"How is-"

"-spinal injur-"

"Thirty cc's!"

"-poison counteracting-"

"Will she-?"

"-organ failure imminent!"

"Looks like paralysis-"

"-losing her!"

It was so cold. Why was she so cold? All Miko wanted was to curl up and sleep, why weren't they letting her? She wanted to cry, but her eyes only sent silent tears sliding down her immobile face.

The hover stretcher fairly flew down the hall, pushed by grim-faced orderlies and followed by Bulkhead. Ultra Magnus was waiting in the operating chamber with one of the ship's surgeons. Neither looked hopeful.

"Let me see her," the commander said softly.

"Sir, if we move her, we run an even greater risk of-"

"Let me see her!"

The attendant shut his mouth and stepped back. The leader of the Wreckers knelt beside the gurney and gently lifted the shivering, comatose human from it.

Swiftly, his processor raced through a number of possible scenarios, none them ending happily. Magnus turned to the surgeon.

"Inform Nakadai's next of kin," he ordered, "Her care has been remanded to my team's facilities."

"Commander, you need parental consent, she's still a minor!" the surgeon protested.

"Send me the paperwork later!" Magnus snapped as he hurriedly exited the hospital deck, clutching his injured Wrecker close to his spark.

"Smokescreen, get a med room ready," he whispered into his com.

Bulkhead kept up the pace behind his leader, and they made their anxious way through the three decks separating them from the Wreckers' quarters.

"Stay awake soldier, do you hear me?" Ultra Magnus huffed as they neared their destination, "You do not have my permission to die!"

Wheeljack, Smokescreen, and Hot Shot were waiting in the sterilized chamber with their medic, Red Alert. The red and white femme instantly took charge.

"Wheeljack, get those younglings out of here! Commander, put Miko on the scan table: I need to see the extent of the damage." Protesting mightily, Hot Shot and Smokescreen were shoved out of room and the door locked behind them.

"There," the medic intoned, "Now I assume if you've got anything risky planned, they can say they knew nothing about it." Ultra Magnus nodded gratefully.

Red Alert turned as the sensors she had attached to the patient began to shriek a warning. "By the Allspark!" she gasped, "Her internal organs are completely shutting down!"

Miko's eyes widened fractionally, but she made no sound.

"It's gonna be okay, Miko," Bulkhead promised.

"Don't tell her that!" the doctor hissed, glaring, "Her spine is almost completely severed, she's in shock, and she's got an unidentified poison in her systems!"

Ultra Magnus's brow furrowed. "Get this girl in a Cocoon! Now!"

Bulkhead gaped. "Metamorphosis? But sir! She's not twenty one yet! It's illegal!"

Magnus whirled to face the Wrecker with danger in his optics. "It's the Cocoon or a Coffin, soldier! If she doesn't transform now, she'll die!"

The medic activated a glass dome that slid over Miko, isolating her from her fellow Wreckers. "I'm putting her in an induced coma to minimize further degeneration until the Cocoon is ready," she explained, rushing back and forth, injecting substances under the dome.

She looked up at the three remaining mechs. "One of you - or all of you - need to donate some CNA. I can't operate a Cocoon on just energon!"

Wordlessly, all three held out their arms for the needle. Red Alert scraped a small portion of mesh from between their servos and scanned it.

"Commander, your energon/isotope levels aren't going to assimilate well with her blood type while she's in this state," she said flatly. The disappointment was tangible.

"Bulkhead, your energon/isotope levels match, but you've still got the contaminant from the attacker on your armor-it'll corrupt the solution." The green mech's optics swirled in horror.

The femme turned to Wheeljack. "You're lucky. You're what the humans would call O+. You could donate CNA to anyone, really." Wheeljack looked relieved, as did the others. The sample from Wheel jack was entered into a computer that began to feed the information into a replicating device.

Wheeljack lay on the berth next to Miko as the computer began to formulate the solution needed to keep the girl alive during her transformation. "Hey kiddo," he whispered, "Everything's gonna be alright. I promise."

"The tank will be ready in two hours," Red Alert informed Magnus, "I will keep her in stasis lock until then."

Outside, Smokescreen kept an anxious vigil while Hot Shot paced. "Is she going to die?" the youngling whispered.

"I don't know, Hot Shot, I don't know."

Pred'akngard: Megatronus's Forge

Megatronus opened the door and stepped straight into another skirmish. Sunstorm was standing on a bench, holding Captain Darby over his head. Slipstream was supporting a rather dented-looking Ramjet on one side, and an equally roughened Lugnut glared hatefully at them from the other side.

"I don't care who started it!" Sunstorm was saying, "You do not act like that in front of our allies!"

"But Lugnut hit first! I didn't bite him 'til after that!" his little brother whined.

Slipstream crossed her arms defiantly. "And he tried to squish Darby!"

Megatronus began to wish he'd never opened the door. Was it too much to ask for one day of quiet?

"What is this? Explain yourselves!" he growled.

"Yes! You heard Lord Megatron: explain yourselves this instant!" Lugnut sneered triumphantly.

"I was referring to you as well, Lugnut," the Prime deadpanned.

"You can put me down now, Sunstorm," Jack said quietly, breaking the tension, "And thanks for the save."

"Oh!" The yellow Seeker gently placed the human on the floor, where he quickly dusted himself off.

Megatronus shut his optics, hoping to ward off an impending headache. "You," he pointed at Jack, "Your father is on his way here to meet with me. You'll leave with him."

He opened one optic to glare at Lugnut. "You, report to Barricade, and stay there until I have time to deal with you."

The fiery gaze turned to the Trine. "And you..." Megatronus shook his mighty helm. "My quarters. Now."

Lugnut didn't seem to understand his predicament, and as he passed Slipstream, he muttered, "Insubordinate, human-loving Ahtzobahts. Small wonder Airachnid left you!"

Slipstream's carefully defiant mask buckled and her mouth dropped open in shock. Megatronus was furious.

"Forget Barricade!" he thundered, murder in his optics, "Report directly to the brig. And stay there until called for!"

Captain Darby watched the exchange apprehensively, ready to dart under the bench if he had to. As the brute lumbered away, the Prime turned to the human.

"Boy," he said tiredly, "Please. Wait in the forge." He opened the door for Jack, who obliged. The door swung to with a low boom.

The silence was deafening. Ramjet was staring at the floor, face fallen, and Slipstream's wings were trembling in a potent mixture of anger and hurt. Sunstorm held out his arms and soon the other two were clinging to him like a lifeline.

"He's an idiot, Slipstream!" the young mech snarled, "Don't waste your thoughts on him!"

Slipstream tightened her grip on her brothers. "I hate him," she whispered.

"Slipstream. Sunstorm. Ramjet."

The three looked up at their leader.

Megatronus sighed and pulled a hand down his faceplate. "Why does this keep happening, younglings? Help me understand," he said in a surprisingly gentle tone.

Sunstorm relinquished his younger brother and sister and moved to stand in front of them, wings raised protectively. "Prime, I swear before the Allspark that we did not instigate this."

He thought a moment, then amended his statement. "I started something earlier when he wouldn't let the captain speak to you, but this time he threw the first punch."

Megatronus noted that all three were scraped and dented. With a weary groan, he pulled open the door to the Forge.

"Get in there," he grumbled. Wings drooping, the three shuffled in. A bemused Jack was ushered out again before the Prime thought better of it and brought him back inside. He returned his attention to Starscream's children.

"This isn't the first time you've fought with Lugnut," he griped as he began to patch the three up. It was an observation, rather than a question.

"He always picks on 'Stream!" Ramjet complained, "And he won't shut up about the glorious days of the Decepticons."

"And he talks a lot about squishing humans. It makes me really uncomfortable," Slipstream added, arms crossed protectively over her spark.

Lugnut had always been a nuisance, but Megatronus had thought him too slow-witted to do any damage. Now, it seemed, he would have to go back through the incident reports and find out how many were not instigated by the Trine. He looked down at Jack.

"Can you confirm this?" he asked.

Jack nodded. "If Sunstorm hadn't reacted when he did, I would be dead now," he said grimly, "Evidently, having the audacity to speak to you in person carries a death sentence for humans. It seems that on both sides there are those unwilling to let to of the past."

Slipstream snorted. "The femme in 12C was eons better than Lugnut. I'd rather be stuck with her than him."

An internal com announced the arrival of Optimus and Arcee.

"Listen closely," Megatronus announced sharply, "Lugnut will be punished for his criminal behavior, and you will not be punished for defending yourselves and your cousin."

The Triplets and Jack exchanged confused looks. Cousin? Jack shrugged expressively and they turned their attention back to the huge Prime.

"However," he was saying, "You did attack him earlier. I cannot afford to show favoritism. Therefore," the younglings winced and waited for the bad news, "you three are henceforth assigned to Colony 21186D." Megatronus's faceplates softened, and for just a moment his optics twinkled. "They have a shortage of competent fliers."

Sunstorm whooped and punched the air, and Ramjet actually hugged Captain Darby. Slipstream grabbed the Prime's hand.

"You're actually sending us to the exploration craft?" Her optics danced with hope.

Megatronus nodded and, true to form, tried to look stern and imposing. "I obviously don't want you anywhere near Lugnut," he scolded, "It's only logical!" The little femme squealed and threw her arms around his neck, completely ruining his intimidating look.

Optimus and Arcee were nearly bowled over as they neared the Forge. The Trine had come barreling out of the room in a frenzy of excitement, barely stopping to help Arcee to her pedes.

"Sorry, lady!" Ramjet squeaked as they dashed past.

Optimus chuckled quietly at the baffled expression on his SIC's faceplates. One look at his brother's sober optics, however, was enough to remind him why they were there.

Jack hurried out to join his partner, stopping to give a perfunctory salute to his godfather. Optimus took his place in the Forge as the great doors shut once more.

"So," his brother began, "the ghost ship has returned to haunt us."

"So it would seem."

Next time, on "Survival":

"We did everything we could. I'm so, so sorry, Commander."

"This isn't fair! She should be here!"

"Optimus, doesn't it bother you that the Cygnus 26 had neither passenger list nor cargo manifest?"

"Centurion! What happened to you?!"

"If we are to understand our adversaries, we must go to the Cygnus 26."

I've never written hospital drama before. Watching "Emergency" on the retro channel just payed off!

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