So, I normally try to avoid copying myself too much, but there's a bit in here that is shared with the one shot Talks and Translations I wrote.
Note: Dividing lines are not being saved for some reason, will fix as soon as possible.
The entire ship knew when Predaking returned. The predacon hadn't returned with the human experiment and based on the rage, the Autobots must've killed the it.
Megatron and Shockwave were currently talking him down. Starscream was pretending that he had more important things to do on the bridge, so he was probably talking to Soundwave about how sad it was to lose the human turned Predacon.
Knockout, meanwhile, returned to his room. The cage that held Jack stood on a short table, and with nothing to do until Shockwave asked for more information on the Synth-En, he began to fix it up a bit, taking time to scan and catalog the items inside as he went, movie posters, books, some random Knick-knacks that only Primus or perhaps Unicron knew what they were for. Pictures of Jack and his mother he found were scanned, and Knockout mentally noted to do some more research on that aspect of human culture in the future, before Lord Megatron erased it. It would make a small chapter in the history books, to be sure, but it was a more than fair exchange for a new home world.
A tiny notebook he nearly tore had random notes about logins and passwords, and he nearly smacked himself for not having checked out this angle before- social media was a more Soundwave way of doing things, and doing so now might attract too much attention. He'd wait before he tried it.
On that note, it would be best if he moved the cage out of his room, make it look like he was loosing interest in Jack. It didn't take long to grab a trolley and place the cage on it, and Breakdown's room wasn't that far relative to his, it was just one of the more hidden rooms, being closer to the Vehicon rooms than the officer quarters. It took him a moment to wrestle the cage onto the table, and with a soft sigh as he looked over the room and cage he prepared to head to the lab even without Shockwave's summons. He needed to think of something else for a while.
He slammed into Predaking with the trolley. For a spark-stopping moment, he thought the other would kill him. "Predaking! What a surprise!"
"You knew the Synth-En was unstable, why did you tell me of it?!" Predaking growled, clawed servoes flexing.
"Excuse me? I told you I was using regular energon, did you stop to think that there might have been a reason I wasn't using the Synth-En despite it being faster?!" Knockout snapped. "You were the one that wanted a mate so badly that you used something you didn't fully understand to do it!"
Predaking snarled, but didn't attack, even visibly regained his composure. "What are you doing here?"
"This is my former partner's room. I'm allowed. What are you doing here?" Knockout crossed his arms.
"... Ripclaw's scent is here." It was hard to tell who was more surprised by the honest answer, and Predaking focused on the cage. "What is that?"
"Ja-Ripclaw's former cage. Took a few rooms from his house to be more comfortable." Knockout watched Predaking sniff the three rooms, lingering on the bedroom.
"There is scents of other humans, but only one other just as strong as Ripclaw's."
"Probably his mother or carrier. From what I can tell, there's no sire in their lives." Knockout was blocked in the room by the trolley and Predaking, it was decidedly not a position he wanted to be in.
"... I see. You took Ripclaw from his carrier." Predaking growled.
"He was legal! Besides, it's not like you were any better, Jack probably asked you not to and you did it anyway." Knockout ignored the fact he was being hypocritical, he was trapped and wanted Predaking to leave. Or at least get the possible mauling over with so he could get repaired sooner than later.
Predaking looked around the room, before he growled, turned on his heel, and left.
The sudden exit did not do anything to relieve the red mech still left in the room. He felt himself trembling at the very near miss.
Knockout sat down on Breakdown's berth, barely believing that once again, he'd avoided death by angry Predacon. The lab would be a nice quiet place without much threat to his life or worse, his paint job.
Nemesis Bridge
"General Bryce, this is Agent Fowler, the bots picked up an injured bot in the desert that might be an ally, Ratchet's doing a full medical check now, I'll give you an update tomorrow." Soundwave stopped the recording. Megatron gave a slow nod of consideration as he turned to Shockwave.
"They didn't kill him, this will make things difficult with Predaking." Megatron spoke gravely, they had lost too many soldiers, to add the predacon to the list would be a disaster.
"Perhaps we should give the illusion of continuing the clones?" Starscream offered.
"We do not have the resources." Shockwave reminded them. They had quite a bit, to be sure, but it would only be enough to make one with their focus being mainly on the Omega Lock. It was a shame to have lost such an avenue of knowledge that the human base specimen would have provided. He'd spent so long with sub-standard specimens that he'd been looking forward to having a new type. Still, the fact it was alive meant he'd be able to use it for research at a later date, so the halt on his research was only temporary.
"Not until the Omega Lock is rebuilt." Megatron smiled. "Which I believe will be incentive enough for him to aid us in completing the work."
"I shall begin my study of the synthetic energon." Shockwave left to do so.
"With any luck, the autobots will accidentally trigger a rampage from the beast." Starscream crossed his arms.
"A possibility." Megatron gave a wry smile, "but it's more likely that Prime will keep it sedated to try and save it, which may end up being in our favor."
Unspecified Army Base
"Prime, how stable is the kid?" Agent Fowler asked the instant he entered Optimus's new cab. It was the easiest way to speak without being overheard, and Optimus was polite enough to not immediately question Fowler's request.
"The synthetic energon used to transform him makes him angry, aggressive, when faced with certain triggers- mainly the memories of his treatment at the hands of the Decepticons." Optimus explained. "However, from what I have observed, Jack is still the same, and well aware of his current mental instability. He asked Ratchet if he could fix the anger."
"Can he?"
"It stands to reason that if unstable synthetic energon was used, finding a stable version could stabilize Jack ... Ratchet is already working on it." Optimus shifted slightly on his tires. "But there is another issue, Jack is processing energon faster than healthy... and we have a limited supply."
"What do you mean by processing faster than healthy?"
"Ratchet could explain better, but all of us process energon at different rates, and battles make us use more than just being around the base. However, even resting, Jack is processing energon at an unusually fast rate, requiring more energon."
"And if the kid can't get enough?"
"Ratchet fears the worst case scenario, that Jack's new form will become unstable and slowly fail." Optimus explained.
Fowler rubbed his eyes. That was what he hadn't wanted to hear. The bots were doing a little better with energon collection and storage, especially now that he was actively helping them with getting geological surveys that would narrow down energon locations, but they were still limited in the man-power needed to get the most out of the deposits.
Not to mention, explaining to General Bryce that the bots needed to feed the mentally unstable wolf-bot to keep him from getting worse was going to take careful planning in order to keep from making it sound like Jack would kill them if he wasn't fed enough.
"So, basically you need to be able to feed Jack what you can get now, how much can you give to Jack?"
"Ratchet is still calculating, but so far, Jack has been given a full ration for a regular warrior, and is still rather weak. It is not unusual for different frame types to require different amounts of energon."
"I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises."
"Understood. I believe you have something else to say?" Prime finally asked.
"Prime... we can't let anyone else know about Jack's transformation." Fowler was dreading this conversation, he hadn't been able to sleep well, trying to think of a way to do his job that didn't make Jack's new form a science experiment. Especially with the call he got last night.
"Has something happened Agent Fowler?" And naturally, Optimus was able to see right through him.
"Attempted Break-in to the garage holding Nemesis Prime, most likely MECH, seems it was wishful thinking that Silas killed them all off." He sighed. "We suspected some were in the military, but it looks like Sy had some backers possibly higher up. They already can process energon thanks to Starscream, they don't need to know it can be used to turn people into bots."
"What is your plan, Agent Fowler?" Optimus asked after a moment.
"Officially, the bot we picked up was a Decepticon prisoner that escaped some freaky experiments. I'm thinking we blend some more truth with the fiction that way we don't have to many slip ups." Fowler admitted. "Problem is, I need a name to give the general when I report to him in a couple hours." It was an easy story, and it would be what was placed on the official record... this of course meant that Jack would have to be listed as officially dead, but he had time to come up with that story (and prep June for the lie, which might take longer).
"I see. It's not unusual for cybertronians to pick new designations if they've been modified, or have had some other major change in their life, you could simply ask him to come up with a designation... or ask Arcee what name she chose for him when speaking our language."
"Raf did mention that Bee didn't always use our names." Agent Fowler noted. Raf hadn't said what they were, and the agent hadn't really been interested at the time.
"The Guardians of the children picked names for them when referring to them in our language, translating names between our languages, with few exceptions, is not an exact process." Optimus explained. "Our names for example, do not quite translate to your english, Bumblebee and Arcee are both approximate translations, while Wheeljack and Ratchet are more exact."
"Do I or Mrs. Darby have the same issue?" Fowler was only half curious what he was being called, the other half wondered if Optimus knew that for the first few months of their acquaintance that Fowler's codenames for certain reports were not really flattering. (He kind of regretted calling Cliffjumper 'Hornhead' now.)
"Yes." Optimus replied. "But before we proceed, we should speak to all of them about this, Jack especially."
"I was hoping to put that one off until the Kid was more stable." Fowler admitted.
"That would be unwise, Jack has been through much uncertainty recently, it would be better for him to know what is being done and said." Optimus shifted into drive, and moved into the hanger before Fowler could object.
Pulling in, they saw Raf talking to Jack, who was quietly listening. Arcee, meanwhile, was glaring at Ultra Magnus, she'd planted herself between him and Jack. Ignoring the standoff by having one of their own was Ratchet and June. Wheeljack was helping Bumblebee and Smokescreen with unloading energon from a trailer.
"I don't think I want to know." Fowler got out, and Optimus closed the door before transforming.
"What is the problem?" Optimus chose to address Ultra Magnus and Arcee first.
"Your Soldier is refusing to let me speak with the predacon." Ultra Magnus reported. Agent Fowler had to struggle to keep a straight face as he climbed the stairs to the human area, unable to stop the stray thought that the large bot sounded like an exasperated parent.
"He keeps bothering Jack with questions and Jack needs to rest his vocalizer for it to calibrate correctly." Arcee crossed her arms.
"And what is the opinion of our medic?" Optimus asked.
"He needs to rest it. We got enough from last night and this morning for me to be confident that Jack's who he says he is." Ratchet answered, before moving back to his computer.
"Then any further questions can wait. Is there something else wrong, Mrs. Darby?"
"It's nothing that can't wait." She promptly turned her back on Ratchet and moved over to stand by Raf.
"Then agent Fowler has something to say to all of us." Optimus paused and Jack gave a low growl and a jerk of his head to point out Miko and Bulkhead coming back from getting breakfast. "Thank you, Jack." The wolf gave a soft huff and laid his head down, tail briefly thumping the table.
Once Miko had gotten up on the human area and Bulkhead closed the door, Agent Fowler cleared his throat. "0300 this am, there was an attempt to break into the garage where we are holding the remains of Nemesis Prime. We think that MECH is getting back on its feet after Silas went off the deepend. This means they're still a potential threat, and if their goal has remained the same, we can't let them know that a human got turned into a bot." Jack lifted his head, and tilted it slightly. "Officially, the story is going to be that the wolf we picked up was an autobot subjected to the decepticon mad science division. We won't be able to mention Jack."
"So, why are you telling us this?" Miko asked.
"One, to get everyone on the same page so no one slips up, two, I need a name to give the general when I see him." Fowler explained. "Optimus says that you bots have come up with names for us when talking in your original language?"
"What?" June asked, looking up at the bots.
"Your names do not all translate into our language Mrs. Darby so the guardians of the children picked names for them. Translating them back into your language, the designations are Joyride for Miko, PatchUp for Rafael, Roadhauler for Jack." Optimus explained. "Before Wheeljack arrived, we did not often use the Cybertronian name for Jack, as his name does translate well into our language."
"You two also have names, Red Alert for June, and Hubcap for Agent Fowler." Ratchet added at June's look of confusion.
"Hubcap?" Fowler raised an eyebrow. It wasn't as bad as what he'd been thinking, but still, wasn't his first choice.
"Named after a communication specialist we lost in the early days of the war." Optimus explained softly. "As our liaison with the United states government, you are considered a communication specialist, so I found it fitting."
"There were a couple Red Alerts, speciality was either security or medical." Ratchet added, looking away from the monitor. "We agreed the designation fit June Darby, emergency room medic."
"Not to mention her helicopter mom status." Miko muttered.
"Miko." Jack growled, before shaking his head.
"So we can use Roadhauler." Arcee suggested. One hand on Jack's shoulder. "It won't be too much of a lie that way, and we can come up with a new designation later."
Jack looked at her for a moment, before looking at his mother. June gave a small nod and a sad smile.
"You alright with that Jack?" Fowler looked over, and Jack gave a short nod. "Then Roadhauler it is, try to remember to use it."
Jack laid his head down, and Ratchet frowned scanning.
"On that note, I believe there is schoolwork to be done." June turned to Miko and Raf, ushering them to the table and chairs.
"I'll finalize my report." Fowler nodded at them and went to his office.
As the bots began moving to their posts for the day, Wheeljack stopped to talk to Miko before he went on patrol.
Agent Fowler heard the groundbridge begin to power up as he moved to his desk, when there was a loud growl and Ratchet and Arcee yelling 'Jack!'.
He rushed out to see Jack, unsteady on his four feet, and blocking Wheeljack from the groundbridge.
"What is going on?"
"Miko." Jack growled.
There was a pause, and then Wheeljack chuckled. "Well, looks like you caught us." He opened his chest compartment and a very annoyed Miko popped her head out.
"It's a jungle, Jackrabbit, I just wanted pictures for my report." Miko reluctantly let Wheeljack put her back.
Jack snorted, before moving back to the berth, he needed Optimus' help to get back on it. Despite Ratchet's scolding, his tail wagged when Arcee spoke.
"Nice catch, partner."
Jack was asleep before Ratchet reached the middle of his rant on reckless behavior.
Excerpt from Video File T-A3O9. Special Agent Fowler Reporting.
"So this Roadhauler was a Decepticon prisoner that escaped the cybertronian version of a mad scientist?"
"Yes, Hauler was subject to Knockout and Shockwave, a Decepticon who apparently is known for reformatting bots into weapons."
"And your report includes a mention of an unstable mental state."
"The cybertronian version of steroids was used in the process, Hauler has anger that he can't control, no matter how much he tries. That said, he's not a threat to the team, he gets angry, he puts himself in a corner."
"And the children?" Bryce asked.
"A bot stays with him at all times, but he's hyper aware of where they are, to the point of knowing Miko tried to sneak out with Wheeljack."
"And your note about Roadhauler might change his name?"
"Apparently it's a cultural thing where bots that have been reformatted have the option for changing their name to better fit their new body or status, there's a few rules apparently, and Roadhauler is a bit reluctant to do so."
"And does this Roadhauler know anything about the whereabouts of Jackson Darby?"
"Only that he was indeed there, his memory as mentioned prior, is vague at best. Ratchet believes that it will get better with rest."
"Your previous report of Smokescreen's infiltration indicates no mention of this bot."
"Smokescreen only went to the hold and the private quarters, he didn't go to the labs, where Roadhauler was being held."
End Video file T-A3O9 excerpt.