"Arcee, you really should resting the evening away in a warm oil bath, not racing through the hallways ready to join in on these negotiations," Knockout protested adamantly. He drove his cart at the same slightly too fast pace on the return trip back on the common room, as he had on his way to talk to his mate in their living space. He hadn't expected that she would follow him back to the gathered members of their team, and that she would fly at once right back into Autobot officer mode of thinking. But he knew he should hardly be surprised that she had done exactly that.
"Today we might either gain one more ally that could win us the war once and for all, or we've got a brutal and vicious 'con with reputation for worse than Starscreams's loose somewhere on Cybertron," Arcee answered, hurriedly. She walked beside him and the rolling cart with quick steps. "If this is a trap set by a rampaging 'con on the loose – and it may well be – I need to get a feel for exactly what it is we're dealing with." She gave her mate a playful light smack of her hand against his right arm while he drove his cart. And her stubborn blue optics felt like they would burn holes through his armor as she stared him down intently. "And you think I'm just gong to go… chill out in the bathtub?"
"Just be… careful..." Knockout said, helplessly. He inwardly berated himself a bit, thinking he should have known exactly what she would do, if he decided to clue her in on the possible situation.
Instead of replying, Arcee only nodded so slightly he would have missed it completely had he not known her well enough to catch the tiny subtle motion. She did take a second though to look at him while they made their way together down the corridor, and smile a little, with a look in her optics that told him how grateful she was to him for accepting her stubborn determination.
Ratchet was seated in a chair in front of the comm screen, with Bumblebee close behind him, when Knockout and Arcee got back to the common room. Other members of the team sat or stood nearby, watching listening, and clearly ready to jump in and take action if and when they needed to.
"So, what's the story?" Arcee demanded, not impolitely, but still every bit professional all the same. She walked to the comm scream from the door to the room, in a few long and quick, no nonsense strides.
"Shockwave has reaffirmed his intentions to bargain with us for his freedom," Bumblebee quickly explained. "He's adamant about it. Never once changed a single detail of his story. He and Starscream are not exactly seeing optic to optic. He accepts that Megatron is never coming back. Better to walk away then pursue a lost cause forever."
"Ha. If he can walk away without getting arrested and treated as a war criminal, so much the better for him from his perspective," Ratchet put in, without turning away from the comm station. "Shockwave is far from stupid. He must know full well his best bet is to willingly defect at this point."
"So where's he comm'ing us from in the first place?" Arcee stepped closer, considering carefully. "Have you been able to track it?"
"I didn't need to track it. He gave his coordinates before we even asked for them. I did double check to confirm, and it lined up perfectly." Ratchet looked up then from his work, and his optics fixed right on the young officer. All at once his professional matter of fact giving of information turned to his well known huffing, as she gave her a look that could surely have made any other bot shudder in their frame. "Arcee, sit your tail pipe down at once!"
One serious and warning glance from Ratchet, around the room at the gathered bots, made them all look around them urgently for something comfortable to bring over for Arcee to sit down on. Quite unexpectedly, it ended up being Soundwave, standing at edge of the corridor on the furthest side of the room, out of the way and lost, but still obviously doing no harm with his presence, who ran fast across the room, snatched up an easily portable lightweight chair folded against the wall, and set it down fast behind her.
"I told her to be careful. First I told her she shouldn't even be here at all..." Knockout urgently explained to Ratchet, while he nodded quick unspoken thanks to Soundwave, for thinking to fetch his mate a chair.
"Ha!" The old medic shook his head just slightly while he huffed again under his intakes. "Good luck to you there, my friend. You've surely loved her long enough now to know how hard headed she is when she gets it in her processor to do..." He never finished voicing that thought of his out loud. But instead turned to look at Acree again, with unblinking optics that said he would not hear a word of argument of her,. With one finger he pointed right at the chair, and commanded in his old non nonsense medic voice, "sit!"
"What's Shockwave's current location?" Arcee questioned, as she sat down in the chair, close to the comm station.
"At the North-eastern edge of the Sea of Rust," Ratchet explained. He lightly tapped a finger against a map he'd quickly pulled up over the comm screen, explaining everything to her and any of the gathered team around them. "There's a range of small mountains out there, and it seemed to me that his comm signal came from inside a mountain of sulfur. When I questioned it, Shockwave himself confirmed it. He's identified one of his hidden laboratories, inside a chamber concealed inside the mountain itself."
"Shockwave has sworn on every spark to enter the well before us, that his intention is not to trap us," Bumblebee said, still standing behind the old medic. "He says he only wishes to talk with the bot or bots that are selected to represent the Autobot army, and he stated no clear preference even for who might be sent." The young bot paused for a second shaking his head lightly. "Of course nothing about any of that guarantees in any way that we can actually trust him..."
"Personally I feel like this may be worth pursuing," Ratchet commented. "With safely in mind, and battle protocols in place of course."
"I say we finish him off once and for all," Bulkhead grumbled from across the room. He slammed his large green fists together, to further emphasize his point.
"He gave us directions right to his front door. That 'con's practically asking us to come and carry out his execution," Smokescreen said. He and Bulk' exchanged serious looks at one another, and traded subtle nods and agreeing glances.
"I can't help but think, about what Optimus would tell us to do," Bumblebee interjected. "We all know full well that if he were here he'd want to hear him out, learn his side of the story before deciding his fate."
"'Bee's right," Arcee said firmly. The little group of bots gathered around the room began to murmur their agreement, some far more hesitantly than others. And when they had once again fallen silent, she quickly stood up from her chair, jumping to her feet in one single motion, before she stepped forward, with her face-plate set in a look of determination. "I need a ground bridge."
"Ah no," Ratchet answered back at once. Turning around again, he gave Knockout a look of understanding, as the red bot begged with his optics for him to put a stop to his mate's obvious determination to take on this mission herself. "Arcee, you are going to sit back down in that chair this instant, and take part in electing the bots that will go and deal with this!" Just in case his point was not clear enough, the old bot pointed again to the chair and glared at her until she reluctantly sat herself back down on it."
"I'm willing to go," 'Bee said, when no other bot seemed in any hurry to volunteer for the meeting.
"I'm willing to go with him," 'Bulk said, finally stepping forward himself. He slammed his fists together again and scowled.
"Actually, if no one objects, I think I'd like to take this mission myself." Ratchet declared. He stood up from his seat at the comm screen with a look of confidence on his face-plate."
"You, Ratchet?" Bulkhead sounded so clearly shocked and disbelieving.
"Yes, me," the old bot half replied and half snapped with a shaking head, and more than a tiny bit of huffing under his intakes. "I'm good for more than just fixing up your sorry afts ya know. I fought as hard as anybot in the war for Cybertron. I may be an old bot, but I'm not rusted yet." He looked around at the gathered group of his teammates, and then stared for a second straight ahead of him, with optics fixed into a look of finality. "And I think Shockwave might just have something I can use. I fully intend to ask him for it."
"Fine," Arcee nodded, agreeing without protest. She did the best she could to maintain control from her place sitting in a folding chair, and felt almost ridiculous about it at that. "Works for me. Ratchet; your mission then. Assemble a team, and show that 'con you've still got what it takes." She smiled then, and the old bot smiled a little right back at her.
"'Bee," Ratchet said, his head turning fast in the direction the young bot. "Still interested in going?"
"Sure," the young black and yellow bot nodded. "Just give me a second. I need to find Speedbreaker."
"Wheeljack. I think I could use you too," Ratchet said firmly. His optics glanced fast around the room. "A former wrecker might actually come in hardy in this case. And as much as we all know I never did like to admit it, you are good at quick thinking on your feet."
"Oh wow, thanks Doc," Wheeljack said with a laugh and an uncharacteristic grin. He stepped forward, that alone implying his acceptance of the mission. "If I didn't know any better, I might just take that as your own personal respect for me and my skill set."
"Don't you go pushing your luck," the old medic huffed right back at him. But under his intakes he was clearly chuckling just slightly over the wisecrack from his teammate.
"Knockout..."
"Ground bridge. I'm on it..." Knockout answered quickly. He rolled his cart forward, to park in a place close to the ground bridge control. His functional hand was on the keyboard in a second, and with awkward yet still surprising efficiently one handed typing of commands, he pulled up the coordinates on the screen and then just as quickly rerouted them to the bridge control.
The damaged red defector, had began to fill the post of ground bridge and comms operator more and more often. And since the post had quickly proven to be one that he could fill just as well as any able bodied bot – perhaps better than some, because he actually quite liked the post that so many disliked – anyone on base was generally happy just to let him have the job.
Scene Break Scene Break Scene Break Scene Break Scene Break Scene Break
When Ratchet left the ground bridge, he found himself outside, under Cybertron's open sky above him. He had emerged close too a large and tall mountain, one of several such mountains on his world, and formed of layers of various colorful metals that shone in the light of the sun. A high wind blew, as the wind so often did over that empty regain of the planet. And it seemed it only grew stronger within seconds of hits arrival, whipping over the flat land and stopped only by the mountain in front of him. One mighty gust took him almost off of his feet entirely, and he braced himself with his frame firmly planted, before he could crash to the ground.
"This is some wind out here," Wheeljack commented uselessly, as soon as he had left the bridge with Bumblebee right behind him.
Ratchet only huffed a wordless response, in frustration with his teammate's statement of the obvious, and took a careful step forward, toward the mountain and pushed forward horribly by the wind.
"So, what's this something or other, you think Shockwave might just have for you to demand he give you, Doc?" Wheeljack questioned, his tone calm and a little too casual, as he walked froward himself, appearing to do far better with moving, given the wind speed and his smaller size.
"You'll find out," Ratchet snapped, grumbling. "And stop calling me 'Doc!'"
"Whatever you wish, Champ," Wheeljack retorted at once.
Ratchet turned around to face him. Both of his optics glared with a bright blue, and he clenched his hands into fists in his annoyance.
"I'd watch it if I were you," Bumblebee said to the white wrecker. "Ratchet may be an old cranky bot, but he can still swing that wrench of his. And no doubt he's got it with him, too."
"You better believe I do, kid," Ratchet snapped, thinking instantly of the trusty old wrench of his, that he had tossed quickly into his storage compartment before leaving the base.
For a second he thought about telling his youngest teammate off for calling him an old cranky bot. And the fact that the kid had not actually said a thing that was technically all that untrue at all, did little to make a bit of difference. But 'Bee always could get away with things that few Autobots ever could have. And after another second, and another near stumble as the wind gusted hard again, the old medic only found himself shaking his head almost in amusement at the young one's comment, which was clearly intended to be only in good fun.
"So, how do we get in there?" Wheeljack asked, a moment later. His tone was serious now and clearly he was focused again on the mission. He glanced around at his teammates the flat plain extending far beyond the range of their vision on three sides, and at the huge imposing mountain before them. "Or, do we get in there at all?"
"Hmm…." Ratchet mused, considering. "I'll admit I'm not entirely sure yet. We'll give it a minute… see what happens.."
He may have presently been in the role of team leader, but leadership in situations outside of anything medical or scientific was generally not his strongest point. Nor was it typically something he particularly enjoyed as a rule. He had only placed himself in the position of doing so now, because a strong and specific motivation drove him to.
A dull rumble began suddenly, and the ground began to tremble around them, before the old bot had even a second more to decide on his next course of action. All three of the bots moved to look toward the source of the upheaval, and they watched a mall section of the metal mountain give way, sliding back on itself, and reveling a passage that had only a moment before been entirely invisible to them. Shockwave rolled straight out of his mountain hideout in his tank form. And he transformed into his bot mode, his single optic looming over the little group, as the shaking of the ground stopped.
"Shockwave, good day to you," Ratchet said. He moved at first to extend a hand toward the other bot, before he remembered that not every bot on Cybertron understood or had any wish to take part in the human inspired idea of hand shaking. He lowered his hand again. "You're looking well."
"I lack any interest in your Autobot pleasantries," Shockwave mumbled, glaring down at the medic.
"Well, he's just as charming of a fellow as ever," Wheeljack whispered to Bumblebee, while both of them stood a slight ways behind their teammate.
"Very well," Ratchet said, to the imposing bot before him. He stood up straighter and made himself get right to business. "First things first then. You will give your word from one bot to another and face to face that your intention is not to set us up to fall right into a trap?"
"Would the word of a Decepticon mean a thing to an Autobot?" Shockwave questioned quickly. His tone implied that he was considering, genuinely wondering.
"Yes, yes, I do think it would." Ratchet's answer as honest, and he could only hope the other bot would understand and believe that.
"I give my word, Autobot. This is no trap."
"Well then, on behalf of my faction, I extend to you the same offer we have to many of yours already. Defect willinging, turn your back on for your Decepticon loyalty and affiliation, and help us to build a new world and make it what I think we all know it should have been to begin with."
"I no longer have a single hint of loyalty to my faction," Shockwave declared with a slight hint of a snarl. "My own needs and desires cannot possibly be satisfied through service to a failing cause that crumbles more with each passing day."
"Your needs could be met by turning to us for help," Bumblebee offered, stepping forward with confidence as he spoke up. "You would be provided with housing, given employment in a job to match your skill..."
"Is that what you think I want, Autobot?" Shockwave unexpected growled. He took several fast and heavy steps toward the young bot, with his optic blazing in his clear frustration. "To live out my days stacked among two hundred neighbors inside one of your tin can high rises? To give my scientific skill and my time, my very spark to some employer all so that I may in turn earn a wage with which to pay for the privilege of continued survival?"
"What is it you do want?" Ratchet tried next.
"This!" Shockwave gestured around him, at the emty ground in any direction and toward the mountain behind him with its one hidden door now standing wide open on a wide dark and empty passage that seemed to lead deeper inside. "This is what I want. What I've always wanted. Isolation. Silence. A place to dedicate my life to the pursuit of scientific discovery."
"Then stay here," Ratchet said. He stepped close to the much larger bot, and even smiled slightly with assurance and approval of his strange, but still understandable desires. "I see little reason that could not work. At least for the foreseeable future."
The old medic had not asked the opinions of his team on the possibility of such an outcome. But in his spark he felt like what he had offered was right. And beside him he saw 'Bee, young but fast becoming looked to by many as a leader among their people, nod his head in silent agreement with offer. Wheeljack, still standing further back, only looked confused by that point and would easily agree with anything said within reason.
"What could be in it for you?" Shockwave asked, seriously. He stood staring from one Autobot to the next now with that one single blazing red optic. "It's only logical you would demand something in return for my freedom."
"I do in indeed demand something in return," Ratchet replied. He spoke firmly, but he tone was far from being unkind. The reason he had so eagerly come to meet the 'con was staring him in the face, and he knew it would do no good to waste a second on growing uncharacteristic self doubt. "The Cybermatter equation. I want copies or your part of the project."
"Cybermatter is part of my life's work!" Shockwave growled in sudden rage. He took another heavy step toward the smaller old bot
Ratchet watched wheeljack in the corner of his vision, ad saw him clearly about to draw a blaster. Discreetly he signaled silently behind his back for him to stop it and to hold his fire.
"It's part of my life's work too," he explained firmly, his tone calm in the face of his counterpart's anger. "We may have worked separately for ages for the same goal. But it was still the end goal of us both. And only when we found ourselves working together for that brief time, did we both have the opportunity to see a real result we could see and feel and physically work with."
"And now you wish to take that from me. You wish to steal my part of the work we did."
"I most certainly don't. I only ask for a copy of your half of the equation. You keep the original data pads and files. I will finish the project, create more of the stuff, and your name be known right along side mine as the co-creators of artificially created cybermatter."
"It surprises me to see just how much you want it in the first place," Shockwave observed, his tone calmer and quieter. "The means to cyberform a world..." He backed himself up again out of the medic's personal space, and appeared to consider for a long moment. "An Autobot should logically want to destroy the source of such power, not wish to produce more..."
"Cybermatter is more than a weapon by which to gain control of solar systems. True, that's what the 'cons meant to do with it, but it's potentially so much more. The building blocks for all of cybertron, and that includes all of bot life on it. Shockwave, have you never considered before just how much a substance like this could someday do for the dying, the irreparably damaged?"
The wind gusted again, far stronger this time, and sent all three of the Autobots wobbling forward horribly, as all three struggled a moment to maintain their balance.
"Only you would think to consider a life saving medical implication for such a thing," Shockwave grumbled. "This is a substance that could get you control over this entire system and others, and you only think of saving lives..."
"And you could too. Shockwave, you aren't sparkless and self serving like so many may want to believe. You gave your time and energy to science once because you wanted to see how far you could go to change the world. The war is over and you could be more than just some war criminal doomed to run from justice until you can't run anymore, which is all you'll ever be if you refuse us now."
The huge imposing 'con was silant for a moment, and obviously considering again. When the wind picked up far stronger still, blowing particles of rust and metal dust toward them all, he turned back toward the still open doorway to his chosen hideout.
"Come inside," he said. "All of you. I have good energon fresh and ready, and we can further talk away from this wind."
Scene Break Scene Break Scene Break Scene Break Scene Break Scene Break
Knockout sat at his post, in front of the comm computer. The ground bridge control was within easy reach with the well used measuring stick he'd learned to store stuffed down into a gap between his seat and his left armrest, where he could get to it quickly by reaching over his body with his good arm and hand, and grabbing it. The team had left some time ago. And with nothing to do for the past while, he finally stopped looking at a still and unblinking screen, and moved to turn the cart around.
Speedbreaker had stayed in the common room with the small group left at the base, after Bumblebee had left her to leave with the others. And she had begun to slowly pace and wander aimlessly around the large room, not long after the team had bridged out. She wandered to the small window in the corner of the room, and stood for a moment looking out, before she turned, wandered the outer edge of the room, sat down on the bench opposite the one she'd just left, and promptly jumped back up from that one too.
"Hey Speedy," Knockout called to her quietly across the large room. He rolled the cart back and forth slightly, and at very slow speed. The little orange and silver two wheeler turned to looked at him. She did keep walking aimlessly, but it was slower now. "It feels like one of my back tires may be low." Knockout reached around as well as he could with the stronger of his arms, and gestured vaguely toward one of the mobility cart's little back wheels. "Could I bother you to check it for me?"
"Low," Speedbreaker mumbled. The look she gave was so obviously doubtful. "It shouldn't be low..." But she hurried closer to him anyway and looked down at the back wheels of the cart, studying it visually for a second with a shrug and a shake of her head, before she walked purposefully toward one of the doors leaning of the room.
"I'm gonna go and raid Ratchet's workshop for some tools and a tire gauge," she said, pausing in the doorway a moment, and shaking her head again with doubt, before she turned and hurried away.
"You can't possibly have a low tire," Arcee said, after the small bot had hurried away. She stood up from her folding chair only to move it closer to him, before she obediently sat back down without needing to be told. She almost laughed a little, as she shook her head at him, in her own clear confusion. "Ratchet just checked all four of them this morning before you got in there."
"I know that." Knockout gave an awkward shrugging motion, with he raised his right hand for emphasis. "But Speedbreaker doesn't."
"You saw Ratchet throw the tire gauge into his compartment when he was finished with it. He's probably still got it. And you've sent Speedy on a wild goose chase!" Arcee raised a hand to her spark chamber in surprise, at a sudden burst of energy radiating away from the chamber. As quickly as it had come though, it disappeared again, and she slowly lowered her hand again.
"I'm sorry?" Knockout looked at her with a look of such bafflement on his face-plate, it was a little too obvious that she was trying not to burst out laughing at him. "Speedy's chasing what?"
"It's just an expression. Something people liked to say on Earth. It just means she's basically looking for something she may never find, without knowing she won't find it."
"Hmm. Well surely looking for something she won't find, should keep her busy for a good while. Certainly better than letting her wander around with nothing to do but worry about the bot she loves, and dreaming up every possible bad and terrible thing that her processor will only insist must have happened, when she doesn't hear anything for a little too long."
"I see what you did there," Arcee said, smiling a little with a look of understanding. Her smile turned quickly to a look of surprise, at feeling another quick energy burst, this one spreading just slightly further out across the back of her front panel.
"She's active today," she said, smiling again at her mate, who grinned back. She laughed little. "Far more than usual."
The little one was clearly at least somewhat self aware by then, and had been for a while. And her speed and energy levels decreased a bit as she fell into recharge cycles, and increased noticeably when she woke up again, in increasingly predictable patterns throughout the days and nights. Arcee kept him constantly updated on anything she felt the newspark do, and he would not have wanted it any other way.
Smokescreen had flopped down hard onto the bench against he far wall of the room, not too long after the departing group had left. And he'd been sitting in the same place, with a scowl of irritation across his face-plate ever since. He held a data pad in one of his hands, apparently going over reports involving refugee matters that had required Autobot policing in the past several days. And the pen he held in the other hand, scrawled across the pad too hard, nearly damaging the pad as he took notes, while he muttered to himself incoherently.
"I should never have been left to stay behind here," he said, finally explaining the reason for his behavior before anyone asked him to outright. He glanced up from his work, still scowling with the belligerence of a hot headed young bot. He began to make a motion of slamming his hand together again, but clearly he remembered the data pad and pen he still held in time, because he stopped and just stared at the objects a second in clear frustration as he mumbled, "I should be out kicking 'con tail pipe. I'm useful out there, and I'm no use here."
"You never know when one of us might be needed in here," Bulkhead told him with a shrug of his big shoulders. The big green bot took a seat on another bench and promptly put his huge feet up on a low work table that happened to be close enough.
"Right," Smokescreen said back, in a strangely strong tone of sarcasm. "I'm sure that protecting a carrying bot, a recent defector who will probably never need my help or anyone else's, a disabled teammate, and 'Bee's girlfriend is the best use of my talent in the warrior class."
"Smokescreen!" Bulk' exclaimed, in more than obvious disbelief over his sudden attitude.
"No offense to any of you of course," the younger bot said, catching himself quickly and gesturing around the room still holding the pen, and with a genuine look of apology on his face-plate. He shook his head silently for a second and set the data pad down on the bench beside him. "I was hanging out with Sideswipe last night. Helped him haul home a couple pieces of furniture and stuff for his housing assignment. It was cool to see on old friend of mine back on Cybertron again." He shook his head again, and smiled almost a little sheepishly. "I guess I never realized before just how bad of an influence that guy can be some times."
"Ha. You look up 'bad influence' in the achieves Smokey, and you'll find Sideswipe's picture," Bulkhead answered, with a shake of his head.
Knockout remembered his own recent brief encounter with this bot now in question – the young bot, who had made harsh judgments and accusations against him without even speaking a word to him first. He knew all to well just how not so long ago, he may well have let the young soldier have a good piece of his mind right back. But instead he'd opted to keep his mouth shut, where once he knew well his own pride would never have let him even think of remaining silent, and letting his behavior speak for itself. Now though he found himself nodding in quick agreement with Bulkhead's comment, before he finally rolled his optics slightly in disbelief over his own initial encounter with the hotheaded young bot.
His attention was pulled away from all thoughts of teammates and bad attitudes at once, when he saw Arcee shift positions in her chair close to him. She leaned forward a little and frowned in clear and sudden discomfort, while raising a hand toward her spark chamber. Before he could question her, and be sure she was alright, she moved again, shifting slowly in her chair so that she leaned awkwardly to the side with her head pressed against his left arm, still positioned so that he could easily use his hand control for the cart.
"Arcee?" he questioned, with a great conscious effort to keep his tone of voice calm and even. Her silent actions concerned him though and he knew it would have been impossible to hide the fact completely. He glanced quickly toward the other bots in the room, only to find both Bulkhead and Smokescreen staring with alarm showing on both of their face-plates. Soundwave had hovered in the furthest doorway of the common room, since the departing team had left. And he stayed there now, as awkward and clearly confused over what to do with himself as ever. But his head was turned toward them now, and it was obvious he must have been staring at them too.
"I… I think I'm okay," Arcee said after what seemed like ages, but was in reality only a brief moment. She sat herself back up straight again, and she smiled a little in assurance. But still behind that little smile was a worrying look of her clear discomfort, that he did not like in the least.
"She… she's just never moved like this before," she went on, with one hand indicating the newspark inside her chamber, when he continued to look at her in doubt. "The movement was faster then ever, before it slowed right down. The feeling in my spark chamber… squeezing…. Pulling..."
"Someone run to the medbay and find a handheld scanner for me." Knockout said, directing his hurried instruction to whoever might run to comply first.
"She's moving faster again," Arcee told him. The discomfort that had showed so clearly on her face-plate was quickly fading away. But still she looked anxious because of the behavior of the newspark. And after another second or two she leaned against her mate again, so clearly seeking protection from her concern.
"Do you think she's alright?" she questioned, mumbling against his plating. "Please tell me she's okay."
Bulkhead's large green hand, holding a med scanner at the side of his field of vision, pulled Knockout's attention slightly away from his mate before he could decide on what he wanted to say in answer to her. And instead of saying anything at all, he instead reached quickly for the scanner with his right hand, and let her go on leaning against him, while he leaned it against his arm rest with awkward efficiency, and hurriedly worked to input commands with the fingertips of his good hand, before picking the scanner back up again.
"She's okay," he said after she'd sat back up again and he'd managed to scan her. He kept his tone steady somehow, even through his own increasing mixed set of emotions, and passed the scanner back to somebot who quickly retrieved it. Finally his uncertainty gave way to a bright grin. "Both of you are fine. It just seems she's tired of spinning around in there and she's ready to be born and come see the world."