EP 0.5 - The Price One Pays - open

Looking at Serotype Ratchet could only see one thing many times damage, damage, damage. How did everyone get so much damage?! “Yes there is a problem you could help with. But first you could have helped me by trying to not get into this shape. What did you do go out and try to find all the sand and use all your energy before calling for help? Why would you take such an action to make sure we would take you in? All you would have to do is ask for help. I have no idea what everyone does to get in such bad shape!” By the end of the lecture the yell was at near full volume.

Not even letting a vent cycle before a change in the subject with Ratchet’s volume closer to normal but still very annoyed. “The problem is Bumblebee has a virus, a bad one. He is violent. The virus is attacking his processor and changing the mood program. It suppresses all moods but the aggression which it heightens. So yes from what I know of you, your help would be wonderful.”

Turing to walk to Bumblebee Ratchet looked back at Serotype. “I would apologize for what he is about to say but as you were a Con…” With that Ratchet let Bumblebee come out of his forced recharge.

For a moment nothing happened, only the slow click and whirr electric buzz of subsystems coming online and that humming boot-up sound of neural net activity being brought online… and then Bumblebee’s optic’s flickered active and instantly flared white with overdrive.

‘LET ME GO! GET THE FRAG OFF OF ME YOU CRACK POT/IDIOT PIECE OF SLAG! LET ME GO!’ The scout was still bolted to the medical berth, where he had been lying unconscious for breems now while the virus curdled in his head and now, brought alive again, it was a spike through his brain conducting lighting and heat through every hydraulic line. His whole frame vibrated violently, a rattle snake buzz of metal like a scrapheap shaking itself apart as he lunged in his restraints, stripping alloy at his wrist rotors, paint already ripped down to the bare plating. His eyes fixed psychotically on Serotype. ‘Oh, fragging brilliant/awesome you brought the Decepticon shareware/traitor/switcher in! WHAT!? AFRAID TO FRAG ME UP AGAIN, RATCHET!?”

He thrashed, snarling, engine revving. ‘I’ll fragging kill/scrap/slag you! You hear me? I’ll rip your optics out of your head!’

Ratchet would never understand why those who came into medbay would not expect some payment. After all if he was nice and kind and babied them they would come back faster. One reason, ok second reason, to be the way he was would help with skills to not only have the pain of the damage but the pain of dealing with him. At least that was what he told himself. However he offered no comment to Serotype’s words. Only let Bumblebee come back online to really give her a glitch in the processor.

The words hurt that Bumblebee spoke. But that was what the virus did, what it was programmed to do. For a short time after the problem with Bumblebee and Megatron, Ratchet had thought maybe he should change his ways. But millions of years against one bad case did not work well in the odds. So Ratchet would keep up his old methods, if maybe give a few more warnings out, as long as he knew it would not affect their processors.

Ratchet watched Serotype as she watched Bumblebee. When Serotype said she had seen enough Ratchet triggered the program to shut Bumblebee’s processor back down. Letting it take effect Ratchet looked back at Serotype. When she said she would help Ratchet felt some trouble easy. This was Serotype’s chosen field after all.

“As you are with the Autobots now and I would guess cannot go back to the Decepticons I would hope you would save more than just Bumblebee’s life.” As Ratchet said this he retrieved a data pad getting the files on it that he had worked up as well as the data from before and after the attack. (Ratchet hated to give Serotype data about Bumblebee from before but she needed his normal reading so see how different they had become.) After taking it to Serotype he went to get the fluid samples, the test engine he had used to try and figure out more about the virus as well as two other test “subjects” more or less Earth computers that had been modified.

Given Serotype’s symptoms and reactions she did not have long until forced recharge. Ratchet hoped Serotype would be able to help before her system locked down.

Ratchet was never one to just talk. But at least he had something to say about the virus.

“Yes this started a short time ago. Going from back talking to what you saw. I would agree recently is most likely time he was infected but it cannot be ruled out this might have been spreading for a time undetected.”

Talking about the virus did not last long. In fact it was far too short a time. Ratchet had started to repeat himself but had nothing else to talk of other than every once in a while he was able to add a theory.

When Serotype found a virus Ratchet was happy to know a name. He was pleased to see the one Serotype thought it could be was on his list of possible chooses for what the virus was. Going back to his own data bad he looked at the signs but now with an optic for a named virus. “Yes…all the signs are there…good…of course.”

Ratchet went over to the side table and subspaced the tubes and holder, moving the table to a better angle for Serotype the tubes and holder there. “Yes I do. They are here, taken every 15 klik from when we first saw this happening to just before you came.”

There was little time left. Ratchet could see Serotype losing her fight with the system shutdown. Serotype was no longer half asleep. Any moment she would shut down for who knew how long.