The Culling of Prospero, Hangar
The screaming of the small creatures, the red light that bathed them and that droning on of an alarm was enough to cause Nuts and Bolts to draw their weapons. Each of their right arms changed and shifted, much like their bodies had before, and they were replaced by Neutron Assault Rifles. They began to point the weapons at their assailants, ready to open fire if the organics were foolish enough to attack first.
“Stand down! Stand down you fools!” Jetfire shouted, grabbing each of their weapons and hoisting them into the air.
“But, sir-“Nuts began, struggling against the iron grip of his superior.”Stand down, or I’ll stand you down.” The two Aerialbots holstered their weapons, just as the tiny biomechanical sphere seemed to gain control of the humanoid crew.
Ultra Magnus stepped forward, the rest of his companions moving away so that he could be more clearly seen by the holographic projection of a humanoid, assumed to be the captain of this vessel. It took Ultra Magnus’s systems only a moment to connect with Teletraan-1 and change the configuration of his voice module, to allow for speech in the language that the crew of the Culling of Prospero speaks.”Your apology is accepted, Inquisitor, and the actions of your crew are understandable.” Ultra Magnus bent down onto one knee, so that he could inspect the hologram more closely.”There is no pilot. I am Ultra Magnus, acting leader of the Autobots. My engineers are at your disposable, Inquisitor. What would you have them do?”
The Ark’s Medical Bay
Ratchet burst through the doors to the Med Bay, struggling to weave through the crowded space. It took several minutes for him to navigate the crowd, until he finally arrived at the centermost medical station.”What’s his status?” Ratchet asked, moving a trooper away from the table so that he could examine their fallen leader. Ratchet had seen gravely wounded soldiers before. He’d seen troopers so mangled and torn that they were unrecognizable. But the sight of Optimus, his limbs attached only by a few strands of wire and the occasional blackened chunk of armor, was enough to make the Energon in his stomach move.
“By the Allspark…” The chief Medical Officer gasped.”His vitals are off the charts, sir!” One of the medics shouted, his eyes glued to a console screen.”Pump more Energon into his Spark Chamber! I want him Energon-swept, now!” Ratchet began to spout orders quickly and efficiently, his mind going into overdrive.”But sir, we already-“one of the medics attempted to argue against Ratchet’s order for an Energon sweep, “DO IT!” Ratchet yelled at her.
The medics crowded around the station began to carefully look across Prime’s body, desperately hoping not to find an Energon leak. It was impossible to tell if the Energon stained on the table was from earlier or not.”There’s a small gash on the back of his head, leaking Energon. No patching in place.” One of the medics, who was examining the back of Optimus’s head announced. The medic watching the station noticeably shrunk at the announcement.”Focus, soldier,” Ratchet told her, “we have a life to save. Patch it up. You two, “Ratchet motioned to a pair of troopers rummaging through a crate nearby, “bring me a crate of 121-485-326-ALB parts.” The two soldiers turned towards a metal box, each of them taking a handle, and carried it over to the station.”Grab me a welder.” Ratchet ordered, as he began to look through the box for the appropriate armor pieces.
The trooper returned with a welder, and Ratchet set to work attaching new armor pieces to Optimus Prime. The other medics began to remove the damaged pieces as well, one of them moving away to find additional welders. The team was starting to work together more fluidly, now that Ratchet had arrived and calmed their nerves.
The female medic monitoring Optimus’s vital signs moved away from the console, grabbing a welder of her own, as well as a crate of spare wiring. She set to work fixing Prime’s internal systems.
“Don’t give up on me, Optimus.” Ratchet whispered as he worked to attach a shoulder piece over an area of wiring that had just been repaired.
A small rasp escaped Optimus’s voice chip.”Megatron..?” He asked. Ratchet looked at the other medics, who were all starring at Optimus.”He’s gone, Optimus. You missed quite a bit.”