RCV. Autobot Med Bay. Looking in a Mirror Darkly.

[ssjmihoshi]

Directly after Little Feet.




Ratchet: *trundling back to the med bay, holding a data pad from the meeting but not bothering to read the notes since everything had been said at the meeting anyway. Is hoping he won't find somebot else going through his stuff and/or disturbing his newest patient*

infirmary: *main room is silent when he enters, though there is clear sign that Wheeljack's been here in the form of a can of that bot's attempt at moonshine energon*

Ratchet: *rumbles with soft chuckling and add this can to the store of those the scientist has accidentally left here. As it turns out, the swill makes decent fuel for some of his more complicated devices. He starts going through the cabinets too, wondering if Wheeljack moved anything else*

cabinets: *largely undisturbed, but there's a package of deliciously scented large erasures in the last one*

Ratchet: *wonders if that was an accident, popping one in his mouth and subspacing the rest for later. Cragbuster will definitely want some, but he decides to bother the mercenary later, not wanting to wake him. Still, doctor's worry prods him toward the bot's berth for a cursory scan*

Cragbuster: *turns his head as the curtain moves, his frown changing to an uncertain lifting of brow ridges at sight of Ratchet*

Ratchet: *though slightly surprised, he pushes his awkwardness aside in favor of a quiet scolding tone* I thought I told you to sleep.

Cragbuster: *quiet and gruff* I'm recharging.

Ratchet: *rumbles again* We went through this. *glances at the table to see if the cube of soother he left was touched while he was gone* Are you that paranoid that you won't even sleep? *many bots fresh from space had had the same problem, and regrettably the doctor had never found a good way to soothe their fears. At least not with Galloway around*

Cragbuster: *scowls and sets the mostly empty cube on his chest* I don't even know what you're talking about.

Ratchet: *grunts in annoyance* Unless you want to collapse again, at the most inopportune time, anywhere in the next twenty megacycles, you need to sleep. *scans the bot, trying not to think about the fact that he already knew half the systems by spark*

Cragbuster: *and now the scowl shows genuine puzzlement* I've seen organic people sleep. But I've never seen a bot sleep. I'm recharging. I've shut down all non essential systems while my body regenerates its energon reserves.

Ratchet: *curiosity plays at his optics as he mumbles* Maybe your tech doesn't sleep... *stares into space for a moment before waving off the notion* But ours does. Shutting the processor down for defragmentation is good every once in a while. And it allows repair systems to function at greater capacity.

Cragbuster: *cranky now* I'm the same tech you are. *looks closer* ...Same slaggin' model.

Ratchet: *grunts at that, trying to avoid the topic* Which is why you were affected by my sedation gun. *wonders if he should get it out again* How long has it been since you defragged yourself?

Cragbuster: *scowl deepens as his optics go absent* ...Probably when that that little chit first brought me back online.

Ratchet: *gives a small grimace* Then it's been too long. *glances over the recent scan results, finding something odd and troubling*

Cragbuster: *scowl returns* Now what? *sounds just like you, Ratchet*

Ratchet: Your spark seems to have suffered some damage... *doesn't mention the fact that something is also deteriorating his systems, but thankfully only at half the rate they're being repaired*

Cragbuster: Oh. That. *lifts head slightly to drain the last of the soother*

Ratchet: *glancing at him* Is there something you're not telling me?

Cragbuster: *makes the cube dissipate* *dryly* I don't recall you asking.

Ratchet: *grumbles* Alright, why don't you take me through every detail of that explosion, your appearance in the Nexus, and anything else you think may have damaged you in any way. *Ratchet can be difficult too*

Cragbuster: No. *shutters optics*

Ratchet: *practically growling now* Do you understand how this works? I can't repair you if I don't have all the information.

Cragbuster: I can't remember the fraggin' explosion! Or arriving in the Nexus. I wasn't even #$%&@#$ alive till half an hour after we got to the Servant's place!

Ratchet: *fire is gone from his voice, but he's still grimacing* Did anyone explain what happened?

Cragbuster: *snorts* The spark damage and the deterioration aren't from that explosion anyway.

Ratchet: *waiting*

Cragbuster: *lifts one shutter to scowl at him*

Ratchet: Was it from being spark-dead so long?

Cragbuster: Nope.

Ratchet: *becoming impatient, trying deeper scans* What was it then?

Cragbuster: Part of it's energon deprivation while I was young.

Ratchet: *softens... a little* So it's an ongoing condition?

Cragbuster: Is now.

Ratchet: That wasn't so hard, was it? *types a few things into a data pad* I'll work on making you a dietary supplement. Until then, sleep. I'm sure Starforge will be back tonight.

Cragbuster: Not going to nag at me about what made it permanent?

Ratchet: If I did I'd be here another hour before you finally told me. *soft glare*

Cragbuster: And then when I finally spilled it you'd probably leak it to the kid. *glares back*

Ratchet: *sets the pad down* Look, I don't know what kind of "doctors" you've been seeing, but around here I uphold doctor-patient confidentiality. Unless it's contagious or otherwise dangerous to the people in this base, I will not be telling anyone.

Cragbuster: *lays his head back. Quietly* Check for Drzemlik radiation.

Ratchet: *grimaces with worry, going to fetch the specialized radiation detector Wheeljack whipped up. Spends a few seconds calibrating it for the rare form of radiation before letting it scan*

Cragbuster: *winces and grumbles as the scanner starts beeping insistently*

Ratchet: *optic ridges knit in worry as he turns down the audio warning* How did you get exposed to this much? *gradually slipping out of grumpiness and into Worried Doctor Mode*

Cragbuster: *quietly* When the kid was new he didn't always have a recall mode once he'd gone after something. He went after a couple of big 'Cons with a warhead once. I shielded him when the thing went off.

Ratchet: *scoffs at the story, muttering softly to himself as he grabs more testing equipment suited to other types of radiation damage* Idiot... *though Drzemlik radiation dissipated quickly in outside environments and was harmless to most bots, it took hold in the damaged and ate away at them for years after exposure* I'll have to set up a thoron emitter to stop this Drzemlik cascade... *wanders off, muttering to himself about the most likely sources of materials*

Cragbuster: *watches him go, and then nearly jumps off the table as a face framed by cheerfully blinking lights suddenly pops around the curtain* *vehement curses!*

Wheeljack: Nice. You're Ratchet's alright.

Ratchet: *whips around after nearly jumping out of his plating* Wheeljack, do you mind?

Wheeljack: *chuckles* Aw come on, I just wanted to say hi to the new guy!

Cragbuster: *scowls and growls and cusses some more* *very pointed commentary on Wheeljack's parentage*

Wheeljack: *nods, pleased with his detective skills* Yep, definitely yours.

Ratchet: *stalks back to them* He is from an alternate reality, so he is not mine. *starts pulling the curtain* And he needs rest.

Cragbuster: *winces and turns his face away to hide the disappointment in his expression at Ratchet's words. Silence is sudden and complete as he cusses himself out mentally for being glitched in the processor and reminds himself that nobody's ever wanted him, so why should anyone start now*

Ratchet: *on seeing the wince he has to remind himself again the bot isn't his, that he's an adult on top of that and doesn't deserve a parent hovering over him. So why does he feel so responsible for the guy?* You can meet him along with everyone else: at dinner. Now will you leave me be? I have a thoron emitter to make-

Wheeljack: *suddenly excited* A thoron emitter? Woah! Why do you need one of those?

Kami: *looks up from where she just wandered in* What's a thoron emitter?

Ratchet: *facepalms, groaning* Doesn't anyone ever knock?

Kami: *glances over shoulder* The door was open. It's kind of hard to knock on them when they've slid into the wall like that.

Wheeljack: *looks toward the door* Oh, that was me, sorry.

Ratchet: *grumbles again, trundling off to close the door* What did you need, Kami?

Kami: *shrugs* Just wondering if you could use a hand with something. And being nosey about your son.

Ratchet: *ok, that's it, he's done. Retreats back to his office* Wheeljack, who have you told?

Wheeljack: *following the CMO to lean on the office door frame* You know, I don't remember. Don't worry, it couldn't have been too many.

Kami: I was there when Jazz announced him, Ratchet. *amused grin at the crotchety medic as she tosses her long black hair back over her shoulder*

Ratchet: *lowering himself into his chair and tossing the data pad into the pile on his desk, feeling a processor ache coming on* I know this is hard for you organic beings to understand, but physical resemblance does not always equate to family lineage in our species. *figures he'll be eating here for the next few days to avoid having to explain the same thing 100 more times* He's feral, remember?

Kami: *turns her head as she hears something from behind the curtain* Wow. He sounds just like you.

Wheeljack: I guess the Allspark decided there wasn't enough grump in the universe. *chuckling at his own joke*

Kami: *big grin* So how about it, Ratchet? Is there anything I can help with?

Ratchet: *sighs* Fine, I was going to need help at some point... I need a thoron emitter.

Wheeljack: That's some pretty specialized equipment, Ratch. *already doing preliminary computations*

Kami: *so interested that she climbs Ratchet's leg and then bounds from his knee to his desk top* I don't know what that is. *hunkers down to look up at him*

Ratchet: *glances longingly at the set of human-sized stairs built into his desk which seem to be all but useless.* Thoron is a radioactive isotope of radon. We need to find a large amount of thorium to disintegrate, since we can't wait for it to happen naturally.

Kami: *thoughtful look, and then she's reaching for her cellphone* How large?

Ratchet: *ponders* Enough for a few horons at least.

Wheeljack: *translates* That's 20 rads per second.

Kami: *eyebrows jerk upward, and then her eyes narrow slightly* ...What do you need it for?

Ratchet: *avoiding looking at the curtain in the back of the room* Treatment.

Wheeljack: *choosing not to comment about what it's used for* When you're done with it we could re-rig it to create some more stable construction materials around here. That should make Fat-Aft happy.

Kami: You know this stuff's deadly to humans, right?

Ratchet: *comes out of his reverie* I suppose I do now.

Wheeljack: I'm sure we can rig up a safe room. Haven't they started digging storerooms underground, Kami?

Kami: *brow quirked* There's a subway system without trains down there.

Ratchet: *confused* A subway?

Wheeljack: *laughs* Blame Salvage. If he wasn't digging he might be in here more often.

Ratchet: *grimaces at the thought*

Kami: It's how he and Longarm keep Knockout busy so he's not giving you processor aches with his revving. *chuckles*

Ratchet: *grunts* Always a good cause. Well, Kami, would that work for a safe room?

Kami: *grins as she catches him using her nickname* Sure. A lot of the tunnels have enough concrete on them to serve as bunkers for a nuclear attack. *hits the speed dial and puts her pink, jewel-encrusted phone to her ear*

Ratchet: Good. *looking through his calculations again* Now we just need to find a source of thorium and convince Galloway to let us build it.

Kami: Yeah, Koji, can you hook me up a quarter ton of thorium? Yeah? Sure. Yeah. Bill it to the US Government. No, I'm serious.

Wheeljack: Leave the second one to me. When I'm done with this report Fat-Aft won't know what hit 'im. I'll blindside him with science!

Kami: ...You're an engineer, Wheeljack. And the phrase is 'Blind him with science'. *back to phone* Sure, Koji, that's great.

Wheeljack: *quippy response at the ready* We engineers are scientists of the real world, my dear.

Ratchet: *permits himself a look at the curtain. He isn't Cragbuster's parent, nor would he try to force himself into the role. But he can be his doctor*


((Written by ssjmihoshi and random_xtras.))