Differences 3
A Transformers Prime Fanfiction
Set Before "Trickster"
"What do you find so funny Nurse Darby?" Ratchet asked a bit gruffly as he handed her the cup of tea he'd just warmed.
The woman sat in a battered office chair staring off into space as she laughed heartily. She composed herself enough to accept the offering and
"Just remembering a conversation I had once when I was a young and inexperienced nurse just out of training. My colleges and I were discussing the strangest procedure we'd assisted with and possible future ones we might be called on for; I don't think giant robotic life-form amputation made any of our lists."
The medic gave a short bark of laughter and returned to the diagnostic programming he was running on Optimus's new limb. The Prime was resting on the medical bay while his frame worked through the process of reintegrating the appendage. June glanced over at the recumbent form and fought down a wave of giddiness. She had just participated in a complex surgery on an alien life form. It was all so unbelievable.
"I'm still a little surprised that you even have extra parts after all this time," the nurse murmured softly into her mug as she stared at the severed limb floating in a clear container of amber energon solution.
"I have unfortunately had eons to study the fighting styles of my comrades and deduct the most likely injuries that would result," the medic responded with a sigh. "This is not the first time I have had to replace one of Optimus's hands. I am quite certain it will not be the last. Fabricating the most likely needed spare parts is one of the many tasks that occupies my time when I am not actively engaged in medical pursuits. Now we simply leave the healing and regenerative processes to Optimus's internal systems."
June smiled warmly up at him and the medic gladly accepted her sympathy. Perhaps their human friends would never exactly understand what the near ageless mechinodis had endured, still endured, but the woman could sense his weariness and respond to it.
"Come, you were short on sleep when you arrived Nurse Darby," the red and white Autobot offered as he held out his hand. "I imagine a shower and good long sleep will do you much good."
O
O
Jack leapt off Arcee as she transformed and jogged up the steps to the human's living area without a word. He wondered when they had gotten to this point; when they had stopped needing words. They still chatted and laughed together often, but somehow it seemed unnecessary now to ask about or comment on little things. The human paused to watch her stride back into the depths of the base. She was beautiful, he mused, a mixture of amazing power and surprising fragility; with the latter rarely shown to any being. Despite the differences in their species she was sometimes so very human, the youth thought with a smile as the Autobot disappeared down the corridor.
Jack turned with a sigh and lowered himself onto the couch. He hauled his backpack up beside him and pulled out his notebook. Homework had never been truly unpleasant for him the way many of his peers claimed. He had always found it relaxing in fact. These days the sound of his pencil scratching he paper, the smell of old textbooks, the feel of equations running through his head; it all was a welcome relief from what he considered his real life. As long as the human was furthering his education he was required to do something mundane, safe. While the pre-calculus equations lasted he didn't feel obligated to be planning out the next round of internet searches for incriminating images of the Autobots or any of the other myriad duties he had taken on in the base. He was well into the assignment, letting the flow of numbers run soothingly over his awareness when the sound of ped falls attracted his attention.
The raven haired youth flinched in concern and his grip on his pencil tightened. The steady deliberate steps were easily recognizable as Optimus's but there was an imbalance to the rhythm. It was subtle but to the sensitive youth it radiated the pain the Prime was no doubt experiencing. The soldier's habit of refusing to have his pain center tampered with drove Ratchet to no end of distraction. The Leader of the Autobots simply claimed that he thought more clearly with the pain than he could with the sensors deactivated. While Jack could understand his reasoning it didn't dissipate the sympathy pangs that radiated up his arm causing him to flex his hand.
"Jackson."
At the deep basso rumble the discomfort seemed to be washed away and Jack turned to glance over at the Prime with a warm smile. His blue-grey eyes took in the newly attached appendage; the dark grey of the hand meeting the healthy red of the forearm armor at the still braced wrist and tracking up the arm diagonally with faint traces of color beginning to reclaim the mesh. In the mech's other hand was a Cybertronian biohazard box.
"Yes Optimus?"
"I will be resuming monitor duty at this time. I intend to," the Cybertronian paused and tilted his helm slightly to one side as his gaze grew introspective, "recycle," Optimus continued but Jack could tell from the look on his faceplates that the mech was unsatisfied with the English word, "the remaining Cybertronium from my severed hand while I do. I trust this will not disturb you?"
"I don't think so," the human stated, "if it gets to loud I can just put my headphones on."
The red and blue Autobot nodded and turned back to the computer monitor, flicking open the biohazard box with his good hand. Jack resumed perusing his equations after sticking his ear buds in as a precaution. He was struggling with a particularly difficult cosign when he noticed the odd noise in a lull between songs. The human had grown used to alien sounds over his time at Autobot Base Omega One, many of them metallic. But this was different. The closest thing he could compare it to was the sensation from crushing aluminum foil between his fingers. Jack curiously turned off his mp3 player and glanced around.
At first he didn't know exactly what he was looking at. Optimus Prime was no doubt the source of the noise but it was emanating from his helm. From the way the silvery faceplates were moving it appeared he was chewing on something. Jack's mind whirled as he tried to make sense of the scene. He had never before seen the Autobot's eat, or chew anything. The red and blue mech was still intent on the data scrolling across the screen in front of him but his good hand came up and the black servos plucked a crumpled bit of something from between his dentia. The Prime used his healing hand to run one of Ratchet's scanners over the object and when the lights flashed dull amber he popped it back in his oral cavity and resumed chewing.
Jack shook his head in bewilderment but recognized the data scrolling across the screen and decided not to interrupt Optimus with questions. He tried to focus on his homework but once he had noticed the sound it was impossible to ignore and drove any thoughts of tangent lines out of his head while the majority of his brain cells seemed determined to discover what exactly the Prime was chewing on. The youth gamely struggled on through three more problems before deciding to retreat. He gathered up his things and stood to leave.
He glanced over at Optimus one last time and froze. From a standing position he could see into the open biohazard box. Resting beside it on the lid was the crumpled piece of metal the great mech had been chewing on. Submerged in translucent caramel colored goo was the Prime's severed hand. As the human stood frozen in shock black servos descended and casually snapped off a fragment of the appendage. Jack's eyes followed in macabre fascination as the Autobot raised the scrap of himself to his faceplates and popped it into his oral cavity.