Beast Wars

Chapter Four:

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Using Inferno as a shield, she was big enough and very angry at the Predacon spider, Rattrap grabbed the human and pulled her out from under the stasis pod. Ignoring her yelp as he lifted her up with one arm, the rat reopened the pod and dumped Omicron in. "Stay in kid!" Rattrap slammed the lid down.

"Like I hav-" Omicron's words were cut off with a thud of metal hitting the seal.

Rattrap slapped his hand on the control panel, triple encoding his, well, code. At the same time transmitting a data burst of instructions for the pod to circulate oxygen rich air and not to attempt to 'repair' the new occupant. With his free hand he was covering Inferno, firing at Tarantulas.

In hindsight, he should have been on the look out for the other spider.

Rattrap staggered, feeling his body spasm, jerking and unable to cry out at the pain from the cyber-venom arrow. The Maximal hit the ground on his knees before pitching forward face first in the earth. It was somewhat uncomfortable even without the cyber venom working through his motor systems.

Still suffering from the spasms Rattrap wasn't in stasis. Either this was a venom that just effected the motor systems, or the 'arrow' hadn't hit him dead-on. Thus not injecting a full douse... He just managed not to give a grunt as Blackarachnia stepped on his back in raw spite as she re-armed her crossbow like blaster, sneaking up on the distracted shock trooper. Normally Blackarachnia had learn long ago that doing that kind of insult to Rattrap was a bad idea, she'd been flipped with legs knocked out of her and a piston to the head by the rat playing possum. This time she was evidently confident with her backshot that the past wouldn't repeat itself this time.

Oh...no ya don't... Rattrap shakily grabbed his energy pistol. He was far from quiet, but Blackarachnia didn't seem to think much of it as her attention was on the screaming shock trooper's back. She would later though, after she came out of stasis lock from such a lucky shot to the head that it was a gift from Primus himself.

"Rattrap!" a welcoming, familiar voice called from above.

Rattrap didn't look up, but head two different sets of jets. "H-help-p h-er!" he yelled as he prayed to Primus to keep up his luck as he fired between Inferno's legs at the twisted mech known as Tarantulas.

Energy blasts and arrows rained down from above on the true Predacon. Between Optimus Primal, Airazor and Inferno, Rattrap watch the three drive off Tarantulas, who dragged Blackarachnia none to gently with him. That left the Maximals with a very large, very well armed and rather upset shook trooper.

"This is going...to be fun..." Rattrap muttered as he face planted and jerked in another spasm.

The inside of the critical repair chamber was the first thing Rattrap saw when his systems cleared of cyber-venom. The mech shook his head, checking his internal read outs and reports of the repairs. He also check over the report from the chamber it's self, hitting the somewhat cliché big red batten to his right.

Rattrap slid off the seat as the door started opening. He stretched out somewhat stiff, but now well oiled joints, "Eeeeeeaaah!" It wasn't a yawn, but the closest equivalent to such a thing that he could do to one. Great he was already kicking his old habits back into gear, that would raise a few more questions about him.

Oh well, Primus zap the spark.

"Hey Rattrap," A feline head peeked under the rising door, "Feel better?"

"Yeah, where's the pod?" Rattrap asked, reaching out to scratch Cheetor behind the ears as he came out into the medical bay.

"The Zeno-biology lab," Cheetor said, enjoying the scratch before leading the way on long, lanky legs. He stood with his back coming up almost to Rattrap's chest. He was, like Tigertron, comfortable in beast mode as he was in robot mode. "Your code and encryption is giving Rhinox and Big-bot no end of trouble."

Rattrap snicker in pleasure.

"Where did you learn to do encryptions like that?" Cheetor asked padding silently beside the Minibot, "I've never seen anything like it. And what's inside? The new mech-erm, I mean femmie is in there." He flicked his long, ringed tail at one of the other repair chambers, a larger than normal one, as they walked out of the bay. He hesitated and then tilted his head to look up at the older mech, "Is that really a femmie?"

"Scary as slag ain't she?" Rattrap grinned, confirming that Inferno was.

"She called me a 'worker'...?" Cheetor pushed his nose at Rattrap's hand for another scratch, he'd become slowly addicted to physical contact after getting his beast mode.

"Her beast mode is strong from what I've seen." And felt, Rattrap added to himself.

"She's strong! Ooo... a little to the left..." Cheetor gave a purr, walking with his head sideways now, "So what's in the pod?"

"Who, no what kid," Rattrap corrected, "And she-"

"Ah 'gear! Another femmie!"

"-is human."

Cheetor halted, one paw was lifted mid-step, his black ears flattening to the sides in confusion before pricking up. "Human?" He had only seen humans in pictures in his history tracks before Cheetor became a navigator and piloted.

"No idea where she came from. Oy, here, transform for a click." Rattrap stepped aside as the younger mech did as told. The mech held out his hand, and when Cheetor grasped it, he sent a data pack that had the human language.

"Hmm." Cheetor mouthed a few words then sound out his own name before transforming back to all fours. "What's she like?"

"Didn't get to talk long before da spiders showed up." Rattrap shrugged and keyed the door open to one of the many labs on the Axilon.

"Rattrap! Undo these please!" Rhinox half asked, half demanded looking up from the control panel of the large stasis pod. At the same time there was a thump from within the pod.

Thump. Thump. Thump!

"Whoever is inside has been there for several cycles, I think he wants to come out." Optimus Primal said from where he was standing at the foot of the pod.

"R.T. said it was a human!" Cheetor announced... with his new translation program so he was speaking English not Cybertronian.

Optimus and Rhinox's optics dimmed and flashed in blink of sorts. "Cheetor, when did you learn the human language?" The Maximal caption and leader asked, watching his best and currently only pilot and navigator leap up on a table and laying down with his long legs stretched out and paws crossed.

The over sized cheetah flicked his ringed tail at Rattrap, who was putting his hands on the pod.

"I just gave it ta him." Rattrap said, paused as he focused on his encryption code. There was a muffled click, "An' the hid-"

Rhinox lifted the lid, leaning away from the head of the pod to give its unexpected occupant some space. However, not only was the human more to the foot of the stasis pod, but was in mid-kick with both feet in another demand for freedom. So instead of hitting the lid a paned, Rhinox got two feet in the face.

The end result?

"GAH!"

"AHH!"

The massive Maximal and the (relatively) tiny human managed to scare the slag out of each other.

The human, Omicron, managed to get an impressive amount of air despite having been bracing herself on her back a moment ago. She scrambled back wards away from the 'unknown threat,' and ran into Optimus Primal's chest, yelped, half vaulted, half fell over her backpack and was right back into the pod. Fully expecting to see a further freak out the four Maximals tensed, Cheetor looked about to transform, Rhinox hesitated no sure of what to do, Rattrap was about to lean forward and restrain the woman so she wouldn't her herself.

Yet Omicron had frozen after falling back over. One eye partly closed in a wince, "...ow."

"Ya' okay kid?" Rattrap asked in English, easing closer.

"Holy shit that hurt!"

Rattrap chuckled, "Ya're alright."

"With a bloody concussion-" She stopped, staring at Optimus, "Oh..." She then said something that the translation programs couldn't convert. At least the ones Primeal and Rhinox had.

However the one Rattrap had, and this Cheetor, has many further learned notes of slag and such. So the smallest mech grind, crossing his arms over the edge of pod, "Sorry kiddo, we ain't compatible like dat."

Cheetor snorted his laughter, holding most of his own amusement in.

Omicron started, and then whipped off her red and black hat –in doing so drew attention to Autobot emblem on it- and proceeded to smack Rattrap over the head a few time. She hugged the hat to her chest when Rattrap took a swipe at it.

Cheetor was sitting up now, looking like he was hurting himself in his attempt to hold his laughter in. Cybertronian he maybe, but the spotted feline was still, more or less, an adolescent, and thus able to find humor in any number of things.

Optimus Primal made a sound like clearing his throat. He held out a hand to the human, "Are you injured?"

A pause.

"I admit I've been better." There were some visible scratches on the backs of her hands and the exposed forearms, with the sleeves punched up. Omicron accepted help from Rattrap's out of the pod.

Optimus saw the smear of red on the woman's neck and just managed not to touch her but his hand hovered near. She leaned away automatically from the large hand, Primal didn't miss that the human edged closer to Rattrap as she lifted a hand to her neck, pointing at the pod with her other hand.

"That thing has many sharp points and edges inside." Omicron informed him in a very calm voice, "And I do not appreciate it when that thing was dropped with me in it!"

"What?" Rattrap looked at Cheetor, the closest in his line of sight.

The cheetah lifted a paw and, well, pawed at the air with his permanently extended claws, "Don't look at me, I was on patrol!"

"That was my fault." Rhinox rumble as he knelt down.

The human back peddled away from the massive Maximal with a, "Eep!" and then was hiding behind Rattrap, back to Optimus who was now apparently less of a threat then Rhinox was.