Old Friends, New Problems

Chapter 12

#Laurentian Abyss - Nemesis II Rec. Room#%Strongarm's POV%

Strongarm finally gets some answers.

Strongarm was unsure of whether to get a cube or leave. She had been sitting in the Rec. Room for over thirty minutes now, thinking, and was wishing that she had someone to talk to, because maybe (hopefully, actually) that that would help her organize her thoughts. She couldn't stop thinking about what the lieutenant had said to her the other day.

"He killed the mech she loved."

Strongarm just sat in silence after that. Those words rattled around in her processor, and shook her spark to its core. She couldn't believe it... but, at the same time, she could. Her sire HAD been in the Wreckers during the war, and bots did die in war. It would certainly explain why Rem had shown such hostility towards her every time they encountered one another.

"Something on your mind, kid?" came a voice.

Strongarm looked up at Ratchet and nodded. The doctor was sparkling free, so she assumed that either Silvercoat was with a caretaker or with her sire. A small shudder passed through Strongarm. Ratchet sat down across from her, setting a cube of energon down in front of her. Strongarm mumbled a 'Thank you." and took a small sip from her cube. "How are you this morning, doctor?"

Ratchet took a deep swig from his cube. "Tired. But other than that? Fine. How about you?"

"Fine," she answered, then took another drink from her cube.

"I saw you fidgeting over here," Ratchet said, suddenly. "Wheeljack did the same thing whenever he was thinking about something that troubled him. So, tell me, what's troubling you?"

Strongarm sighed, and looked down at her cube. "Did my sire really kill the mech Rem loved?" She looked at Ratchet, looking for something that told her that what she had been told was a lie, but the doctor's blue optics revealed nothing, neither did his expression. Sadness curled in Strongarm's tank.

"Did Rem tell you? Or did Bumblebee?" he asked.

"The lieutenant."

The doctor looked down at his cube, optics dark - Strongarm gulped, knowing that she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear from her sire's friend.

"Yes, Wheeljack did kill Rem's beloved."

Strongarm's servos gripped her cube tighter, frowning and looked down at the table. "Why?"

Ratchet sighed, again, and leaned back in his chair. "He was on a mission with the Wreckers - Rem and her beloved and mission partner, Radar, were on patrol in Kaon. Wheeljack and the Wreckers had Intel that told them of Decepticon patrol patterns. They set a trap for the next patrol. Rem and her partner never saw it coming." Strongarm's servos gripped her cube tighter. She felt the cube beginning to crack, but she didn't care, she listened as Ratchet continued. "After the bomb went off, Radar shielded Rem as much as he could, taking most of the damage in the process. Rem still got damaged though, suffering wounds far greater than Radar because of her smaller chassis."

There was a small pause. Strongarm looks up to see that the red and white mech's darkened optics had clouded over slightly, as if recalling a memory from deep within his processor.

Then, he smiled. "They hated each other so much when they first met. Then after a few decades, they grew close enough to love one another. Radar gave up his life to save Rem's - gave up whatever was left of his spark energy to give her a greater chance at survival."

Strongarm waited for the doctor to finish, but he just shook his head and finished what was left of his cube.

"Sorry, kid, but that's all I'm going to say. If you want to know more you can either go to Rem herself or Shockwave."

Strongarm nods and watches as Ratchet gets up and leaves the Rec. Room, disposing of his empty cube. Strongarm sighs and quickly finishes her cube before leaving as well. She heads back to the Med. Bay, avoiding optic contact with every bot she saw on her way. Not out of spite or embarrassment, mind you, but out of instinct. Strongarm still remembered the stories her carrier told her as a sparkling, and that slight fear stuck with her throughout her life, but only becoming more prominent when coming to Earth and having to deal with Decepticons personally.

When she entered the Med. Bay, Strongarm stopped dead just inside the doorway, and had to keep herself from dropping to the ground laughing until she deactivated, because recharging on one of the med berths was Sideswipe. Atti and her friend Brimstone, and a few others around their age, were painting one half of Sideswipe's face plates to look like that of a human clown and the other to look like a human mime. It was quite hilarious. Walking over, Strongarm saved a picture to her hard drive, then asked if she could help.

One hour later...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! STRONGARM!"

On the Command Bridge, Rem sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Kids these days..."

Hello! Hope you all like the new chapter!

I will try to make the next one a bit longer than this one.

Please review. :)