Grumpy Old 'Bots
It was an unusally warm spring day, nearly ten degrees above the temperature normally experienced in April. The sky was an alluring blue, with pockets of soft white clouds spread throughout as far as the eye could see. Aside from the extra heat, it was routine in every other respect for the Autobots that served inside the Earth-based headquarters known as The Ark. The ship had crashed into the side of a volcano millions of years ago, and had been there ever since. It was quite the sight, a spaceship halfway buried in the side of Mount Saint Hillary. Despite the impressive sounding designation of being a Restricted Area, it had become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. Still, aside from rare instances, only those determined to be authorized were ever able to set foot inside.
One of the busiest places inside The Ark was Wheeljack's laboratory. More often than not, he worked alone and kept odd hours. But on this particular day, he had a helper.
"This is a bad idea," Gears said flatly. His optics followed the numerous wires dangling from Wheeljacks latest invention. Sparks began to spit out from the base of the object, prompting Gears to retract his remark. "I take that back," he said. "This is a horrible idea."
"It'll be fine," Wheeljack said, trying to calm his friend down. "Just push the button when I say to, and everything will be okay. Understand?" Wheeljack was a highly respected engineer, with a well-deserved reputation for being somewhat unique in his workings. Others viewed him as clumsy and a crackpot, but one who always had nothing except good intentions. He was extremely intelligent and absolutely loyal to the Autobot cause.
Gears shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. You're crazy, you realize that don't you?"
Wheeljack ignored the question and made the final adjustments needed before the initial testing. "There," he grunted as he tightened the last bolt into place. "On three... one-two-three!"
They stood in silence for several seconds, waiting for whatever was supposed to happen. Nothing did. Gears shook his head and dropped the control box, letting it crash to the ground. "You need to get out more," he grumbled.
"I don't understand what went wrong," Wheeljack said in disbelief. As Gears walked away, Wheeljack picked up the control box and shook it, as if something had come loose. "Did you push the right button?" he yelled after Gears.
The minibot was grumpy and at times borderline hateful, but he wasn't stupid. "There's only one button to push!" Gears yelled back.
Wheeljack placed the box atop his working table and walked over to the object itself. He grabbed it and sat it next to the control box. With a laser scalpel, he began to remove and fuse certain wires in an attempt to correct whatever had gone wrong. A familiar voice startled him from behind. "How are things going?" It was Optimus Prime.
"I don't get it, Prime," Wheeljack said. "It should have worked. Everything had been checked and double-checked. But when Gears pushed the button, nothing happened."
Optimus could hear the disappointment in his friends tone. "I'm sure you'll figure it out, Wheeljack." Prime paused for a moment, trying in vain to remember what it was Wheeljack was working on. With each new day came a new project, so it was nearly impossible to keep up with everything Wheeljack was involved with. He finally gave in and asked aloud. "What exactly are you trying to make?"
"I call it the Neo-Electronic Sphere Generator," Wheeljack replied. "It'll increase our shields by more than 300 percent... if it ever gets working."
Prime placed his hand on Wheeljack's shoulder. "Just keep at it, old friend. You'll get it."
end chapter 3
A/N: Thanks again go out to Alaskan Olive for providing an extra set of eyes!