Chapter 157

-0-Med Bay

He sat in Med Bay pondering the turn of events that had thrown a cocked hat into the planning of the meet up with Shockwave. In the brig, their prisoner sat in grief, his misery the most authentic thing they'd seen of him in all their dealings thus far. It had been shocking and sad to hear of the calamity of his wife but it was unsurprising in many ways because that was how Shockwave operated. No loose ends. Ever.

He stood up and walked from his office to the corridor outside. The trip to the brig was short and a nod to Inferno got him past the guard post. The five other prisoners acknowledging him with wary looks watched as he stopped before Nast's cell.

Nast was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall and his gaze focused on nothing in particular. He looked defeated and injured, the grief he couldn't spare for anyone else in a long career of killing and maiming people often for no reason at all coming home to roost all at once.

Ratchet knelt down to look at him. Scanning confirmed his depressed nervous and immune systems. This had hit home in a way that nothing else ever had, Ratchet thought. "Mr. Nast."

He looked up at Ratchet. "What do you want?"

"I came here to find out what you want," Ratchet said. "I can send people from the military to see you if you can tell me who you would like. It might help you if you do. Perhaps a priest or whoever you choose to help with your spirit."

"What do you know about my spirit?" Nast asked. "What do you know about God?"

Ratchet considered his remarks. "I know that solace can be sometimes found in a belief and it was my impression that you had pretensions to belief of some kind. I can bring the relevant spiritual adviser if you wish it."

"I thought you didn't talk about God and religion," Nast said with a trace of bitterness in his voice.

"We don't. Not with outsiders," Ratchet replied. He considered Nast. "You consider yourself religious but it doesn't seem to give you solace. Perhaps if someone could come and talk with you it would help all around."

"If they have a Baptist minister, I'll speak with them," Nast said quietly. "If not, no. I don't want to talk to anyone."

Ratchet nodded. "Do you wish a physician? Your overall functioning isn't optimal."

"My wife was blown up by a godless demonic entity," Nast said rising to his feet. He walked toward Ratchet and stopped at the bars. "She was blown up by your kind. I think my 'overall functionality' difficulty is understandable."

Ratchet nodded. "Perhaps." He thought about the fate waiting for Springer and Arcee if they'd failed to find them but held his fire. Obviously, Bill Nast was a very low vibrational sort of person and he wouldn't have the slightest idea or interest in learning about his own hypocrisy.

Nast stared at Ratchet, his emotions raging across his face. "Why did you come here, freak?"

Ratchet having dealt with grief on a constant basis his entire life gave Nast a pass again. Grief makes conventional behavior and manners superfluous for a while. "Because I'm a physician. Your suffering is something I have a duty to assuage if possible. And if not me, then someone else."

"I don't need your help. I don't want your help. All I have gotten from you and your kind since you got here is grief," he said, rage informing his voice.

"You're the architect of your own situation, Mr. Nast. All that has happened has happened because of you and your choices."

"I don't want to talk to you," Nast said coldly. "I did everything you made me do and this happened anyway."

Ratchet nodded. "I will get you someone to talk to." Ratchet arose, leaving the way he came. The walk to the N.E.S.T. HQ was short but it felt like it took forever. He peered into the window and. "Jesse, do you think that you can send a medic and a chaplain to see our prisoner in the brig? I think it would help."

Jesse nodded as she jumped up to hurry to the window. "I will, Ratchet. By the way, when can we see your sparkling again?"

Ratchet chuckled. "You need to talk to Prowl or Ironhide. He's usually with one or the other."

Jesse laughed. "So I see. Who would have known Prowl was so crazy for sparklings?"

"Prowl has always loved younglings and sparklings. He raised Bluestreak from a youngling. He could have put that Blue in an orphan center but he didn't."

Jesse nodded. "When do you suppose there will be a sparkling for Prowl?"

Ratchet chuckled. "Oh, you never know. Maybe sooner rather than later."

Jesse grinned back. "Dibs," she said with a chuckle.

"Good luck with that," Ratchet replied with a knowing grin.

-0-Autobot City, Mars Ops Center

Ultra Magnus signed off with Optimus, the two discussing the approaching refugees and the Autobots that were guarding them. Two full surviving Wrecker crews was a great lift. Springer was charged with integrating them into the garrison along with Kup.

The refugees were a mixed group, some of them well known before the war. Two architects and a Senator from Kaon were rumored to be among them although the information still wasn't firm. There were younglings of all ages, a number of elders and a big mix of civilians who were either fleeing all this time or who had tried to be neutral in a war that allowed no neutrality.

The Autobots were young and older, some of them reported to have been the last to flee the fall of Cybertron after the loss of the world to Megatron. They'd been among the last to stay following the effort of Prime to seek the AllSpark and all the resulting hunter teams that followed him into space.

The mini-con village fleeing their way was said to be with Omega Supreme and Metroplex although that wasn't clear either. No one could tell more than that they'd 'heard about it from someone' passing the message onward. When they reached radio range of the Autobots they'd passed it forward as well. The joy of that being true was something that few of the senior Autobots could depend on.

Disappointment was their friend.

He considered his preparations for a contingent that was larger than any other was so far and felt confident about his efforts and that of the city. Once they arrived they would find out. Not only would they know if what they'd prepared for was adequate, he would also know whatever they could tell the garrison and Prime about the world beyond this one. It would be good to know. They would be better prepared for whatever Shockwave or even Megatron might have in mind for them.

Walking to the rec room, he joined Kup and Springer for dinner. All around him people went about their business and children with their genitors could be seen. It was easy to feel at home here, he thought. It made his load feel much lighter. He entered and took his energon, winding through the tables of mechs to settle with his friends and companions of countless battles. Tonight was a good night to be Cybertronian.

-0-Ratchet and Ironhide

"And so I asked the femmes to send over people to speak with him."

"You're way too soft sparked, Ratchet," Ironhide said dripping water over Orion's head. The sparkling sat in his washbasin splashing the water with his servos and chirping to himself. "The Cons were trying to get weapons to Nast when I got shot in Denver. You're wasting your sympathy on that one."

"True," Ratchet said lowering his datapad, the one with the epic saga of a medico and the little short twerp that was shooting too far above his own class for his own good, "The Sexy Doctor and the Mom Van". "I still feel badly that someone can be that lacking in empathy that he can mourn as tragic his own loss but see nothing in giving youngling children to his men and his clients as some sort of perk."

"He's where he belongs," Ironhide said. He looked at Ratchet. "Remember, these people were targeting our sparklings. They were going to kill Spirit and Silverbow. If you ever weaken imagine Orion being a target for them."

Ratchet nodded as he stared at the sparkling that in an instant had become the center of their mutual happiness. Ironhide had become the best caregiver ever and they had achieved something both wanted but never expected. They'd become genitors of a nice, mellow, happy sparkling. "He's an awfully cute sparkling, that one."

"He's the cutest."

"Sunstreaker might think his is," Ratchet said. "I think some small part of him has accepted this but he'll never admit it."

"I would hope he'd accept it. He's going to separate in about a couple of decaorns." Ironhide poured a container of warm water over the sparkling drowning him. Orion spit out water and blinked, looking up at Ironhide with an expression of extreme distaste.

Ratchet and Ironhide grinned then Ironhide lifted him out and onto a warmed towel, wrapping it around the infant until only his little face was showing. Walking toward the couch, they both sat as Ironhide turned Orion to face his ada. "How about some more of your story? Last time we heard it Prime and Prowl were a coupla virgins, Jazz was havin' to be pried loose from a doorjamb and you were sexy."

Ratchet chuckled as he look at the sparkling. "Will we be corrupting his morals if he hears this?"

"Nah. This is great literature and we need him exposed to the best. Right?" Ironhide looked at the little face peering out of the white towel. It grinned at him. "See? He agrees."

Ratchet, mesmerized by how cute his sparkling was sat a moment, then raised the datapad. He scrolled to the relevant part and began reading.

"Okay, Prime … Prowl … tell me about your relationship," the sexy and wise doctor asked of the two sweet but completely clueless mechs sitting side by side holding servos and looking like they were waiting for the principal to come out and wack them with a paddle.

Prowl and Prime looked at each other then Prowl looked away, demure in manner and embarrassed of talking about 'you know … that.' It fell to Prime. "We have been courting for about nine million years. I consider Prowl my pre-bonded bond."

"I see," Ratchet considered. "Prowl?"

Prowl blushed. "I agree with Prime." Then he tee-hee'd like a Japanese school girl.

"So you never really interfaced before. In nine million years. Ever."

Both frowned. "What does that mean, Ratchet?" they both asked in unison.

Ratchet swallowed. Hard. "Uh …"

"Prime wants to read this. I told him I'd make sure he does," Ironhide said with a big grin that was eerily echoed by a sparkling in his lap.

"Nothing like pressure, Ironhide," Ratchet said with a grin.

"Where does the Mom Van come in? And what about Bumblebee and Wheeljack?"

Ratchet scrolled up to find Bumblebee and Wheeljack. "I have them in Med Bay with the sexy doctor putting Wheeljack together again."

"Read that part," Ironhide said.

"They got to the Med Bay where Wheeljack was placed on a berth. That is, his body was. His helm and his left leg were placed on a table nearby."

"Don't worry, 'Jack. I'll put you back together," the valiant doctor said.

Bumblebee, his agitated and very much sparked little missus stood nearby sagging against a wall, all fifteen of his sparklings walking around inside his big gut. "How is he, Doctor?" Bumblebee asked with a yawn.

"He'll make it, Bee," Ratchet said pulling out a tube of epoxy and a roll of duct tape. "Won't take but a minute to put him back together."

"Take your time," Mirage said appearing out of nowhere. "Bee is mine."

Wheeljack's helm rolled around on the tray it was sitting in to look at the two, Bumblebee and Mirage who were necking at the door. "What the frag?" he demanded.

"Yeah! What the frag!" Jazz descended into the room, lowering himself from the ceiling where he'd been concealed. "Bumblebee is mine!"

"NO HE'S NOT!"

Everyone turned around to watch Trailbreaker, Hound, Ultra Magnus, Springer, Red Alert and half a dozen slaggin' mini-cons come through the door at the same time. "THE FRAG!" they all said in unison. Then everyone looked at Bumblebee.

Listing to one side, his peds swollen and his gut sagging with fifteen sparklings that oddly enough looked like everyone in the room but Wheeljack, Bumblebee shrugged. "Frag the lot of you!"

"Apparently you have, you little slagger," Ironhide said pausing in the doorway, just a little put out that Bumblebee had never put out for him.

At that point, it devolved into a brawl. The mini-cons bit every ankle they could find, half of them were punted into the next dimension. Jazz as he was trying to punch an invisible Mirage punched himself in the face. Everyone fought everyone else except the sexy doctor and the mom van who stood in the doorway and took bets.

"Who won?" Ironhide asked, shifting Orion who had fallen asleep. He settled him against his shoulder..

"Why, the reader, of course, Ironhide," Ratchet said with a grin.