[ti]Ep 2.5[/ti]From the Wreckage [Closed]

[Starscream]

Episode 2.5 | Week 1 | Day 2

The last person that Starscream expected to hear from was Soundwave.

Yet here he was – staring at a rather wordy document from the Spymaster himself. He read it over slowly, as if taking in every word and glyph. Then, he'd read it again - just to make doubly sure that he was, infact, reading it correctly. He wasn't exactly sure how and when Soundwave had even found out about this mere inkling of an idea...

And yet...

Well, that was beside the point. Things were going to happen regardless, with or without Soundwave's blessing, after all – Starscream was now Leader of the Decepticons! He answered to nobody, least of all Megatron's pet spy!

Although those were perhaps thoughts for another time... 

Back to the situation at hand though, and he still hadn't exactly been given a whole lot of information as to what'd happened to make the Nemesis crash in the first place. Skywarp had told him just enough that he could piece together some parts of the jigsaw, but the last thing he wanted was for whatever Flatline was carrying to cross the threshold of Blackridge Hold. Not while their numbers were dwindling and they were effectively laying low to recover and regroup.

The Decepticons needed help, and Starscream wasn't above asking for it.

...When it suited him, of course. Which this most certainly did.

-

Starscream was many things, and strategist was almost at the top of that list. It didn't take him long to put things into motion. First, he'd contacted the Neutral base, explained – with some added dramatics – what'd gone on and how they needed usage of some of the space there for a temporary medical bay.

Manipulator was also somewhere up there, and with a few choice words and feigned, pathetic sobs later after their initial hesitation to this idea? He'd convinced the Neutrals that they genuinely needed help and longterm usage of the DMZ. Both sides of this war had been granted usage of the DMZ to help the war on MECH, and this – technically – was aiding in that. It wasn't like they didn't have evidence of losing the ship... All they had to do was go out to the Ocean, and there it was...

Next came prepping the area itself for quarantine. A short comm to Knock Out to get a few more details as to what they were dealing with turned out to be a complete waste of time, but it did reinforce that yes, they needed a quarantine area to keep this thing controlled until they could learn more about it - and possibly fix it.

Vehicons were sent, and along with a few Neutrals who were overseeing? The small, lackluster Medical Bay at the DMZ was rearranged and prepped so that it was now a secure environment. They didn't have the technology nor equipment that the Decepticons had been used to on the Nemesis, but they had just enough for most things - enough to at least make some kind of headway on this mysterious illness.

Starscream wouldn't interfere, nor travel to the DMZ to check on things himself – he had far, far more important things to be handling right now. He trusted those he'd sent to get the job done properly, and they did indeed. It took a little longer than he'd have liked, an entire day passing since the initial document from Soundwave had been received, but if this was going to be done? It had to be done properly, with sturdy foundations from the start.

The reply to Soundwave would arrive once Starscream had gotten word that things were ready. It was brief, and to the point.

||Quarantine acquired and ready. Haven.|| It was then followed by coordinates to the room in question.

It was up to the Spymaster and Knock Out to do the rest, now.

[Soundwave]

Vulnerability was always a rare thing for Soundwave. If he had an option to remain conscious during repairs, he often took that path, even if he ended up witnessing things that a normal individual would not wish to be privy to. It kept him alert, it allowed him to keep track of what exactly was being done to him or his primary inbuilt Cassette, and it kept manipulative medics from being able to do things they would later regret when he were to find out.

Besides...

Knock Out was not the most reliable individuals on such things.

The red medic had worked with Starscream not long ago it had seemed, to try to get rid of Megatron by trying to convince him that the Warlord was mentally deceased, trapped in a perpetual dream. They easily could work together again, to clip and snip away any potential loose ends that would keep the silver mech away from his ultimate goals. That said... back then, they had a Warship still at their disposal. They had ample troops, and plenty of stability. There was a solid landing platform for Starscream to launch his new rule, while in contrast they were now unstable and needed any hands they could get on deck to field repairs and regrouping efforts.

As much as Soundwave did not trust the two individuals in full, he recognized when his own skills were far too valuable for the Air Commander to even dare try to suggest a far more permanent silencing of the Third in Command. This, and the fact they weren't exactly in a situation where medical procedures could be done cleanly and with ease, and the fact Knock Out was reluctant to use pain dampeners due to what happened with Flatline, meant that he begrudgingly allowed himself to be put under stasis.

Well... only after a few things were done.

Call it stalling, call it being avoidant of the inevitable, but Soundwave went out of his way for Knock Out to for sure have everything he would require, before he would be left truly alone. As once the navy mech was put under? It would not matter how much Knock Out would scream or cry, he would have no one else there to assist him. Only when things were truly stable and the other Cybertronian was confident, did he allow the shadows to creep in and knock him down.

---

Waking up was rough.

The pain was very much there and very much present due to the medic's lack of trust in pain suppressants under the situation. It ached and tore through his lower chest along the bottom edge where his 'ribcage' would end if he had one, though continued back through his systems to stop near his back where the object had been pried free. There was an odd lighter feeling in the area, freedom from a weight he had not been consciously aware of before, but that void and comfort knowing the unknown object was gone did little to plaster over his discomfort. The only boon that was present was that the surgical site was beneath where Laserbeak typically nestled.

Soundwave was not vain. He did not go out of his way to be imposing; he did not try to paint a certain aesthetic. He simply was who he was, and his reputation and behavior crafted the very specific image that was the Third in Command. That said, there was a boon to having wounds hidden away from a cursory glance. It could hide something that others could perceive as a weakness, and that smaller detail that had been taken was appreciated, as the Cassettes' resting frame shielded over the fresh welding lines, covering shiny silver with matte navy and black.

Fighting through the sharp ache that tore through his systems, Soundwave moved into motion once Knock Out was in recharge. He worked with care, with very little noise if any, trying to neatly collect the wares the medic had brought together into easy to transport containers and piles. It was a simple task, one that kept him occupied while his mind loosely rolled over the past few days.

Hours passed... as much as could be done for the moment had been done.

---

Soundwave ended up standing at the high point of the room, his back lightly pressed against the walls surface to keep himself steady and upright. He did not sit down like the red medic had, he did not truly rest, but he seemed to be at an idle state, possibly the closest to rest that would be permitted given the situation. The lack of movement did well to dull the pain, negating the sharp bites down to an ache that could be somewhat ignored... that is, before Starscream's reply came in.

The inky black visor lifted up slightly when the transmission arrived, small glyphs and data flowing in and showing on the screen silently as the small checks confirmed who it was, and confirmed the coordinates given. On Starscream's end, there would be a near instantaneous 'affirmative' sent in reply, a single glyph of confirmation, before he loosely pushed away from the wall, and started into a slow walk over towards Knock Out, stopping before the mech who was still unconscious.

͝/̶/Knock Out͡/͢/̢

A familiar voice, one that would be unlikely to startle the medic and send him into a panicked frenzy. There was no need to lurch him awake in blind terror with Megatron's low growl, or spin his processor into a frenzy by using someone else's voice that had no right to be there. He certainly didn't plan to use Flatline's grumbled hiss, as that would just create more of a confused fear response. The voice of Breakdown would hopefully be an easier process.

[Knock Out]

There was something slightly unnerving about recharging somewhere so unfamiliar, but even despite the dangers of the room itself – and the fact he was stuck here with Soundwave the ticking timebomb? It didn't take Knock Out too long at all to slip into recharge.

He kept his Energon Prod close, one servo curled tightly around it even despite the fact he was pretty much dead to the world now. Then again, it wasn't like he could really do much against Soundwave with it should he turn feral while he was getting some much needed rest, but at least the weapon would give him a fighting chance - and hopefully enough time to run away.

A whole three steps before he was murdered, anyway.

No, even despite everything – how unsafe this was, how he was so very vulnerable like this and would normally never have been caught dead sleeping on a dirty floor – his optics dimmed near instantly after he sat down in the far corner of the room and out the way. Exhaustion outweighed everything else. The past day and a half had been nothing but panic, stress, and a horrible strain on his systems – and while he was used to things like that, given his occupation, it'd been a long, long time since he'd had to work non-stop with little to no rest and in such stressful and confusing conditions.

-

The recharge itself was actually quite fulfilling, all things considered. Probably helped by the fact that Soundwave left him well alone, and he somehow managed to ignore the groans and ominous creaks of the Nemesis. They'd all but become ambient background noise in the hours he'd already spent down here, and so they thankfully weren't enough to jolt him awake.

Hours eventually passed, and the cherry-red mech sat unmoving in the corner, now in a deep recharge. His hold on the energon prod wasn't quite as strong as time slipped quietly by, but he never let go of it – as if deep down he knew he may need it.

It was nice to get away from the Nemesis for a little while – even if it was technically only through his dreams. No robot sheep here, though; Knock Out was driving, doing what he did best (aside from, well, looking amazing and being a Medic, anyway) – driving fast, winding effortlessly around curves and looking absolutely fabulous while doing so. Those human racers he'd left in his dust had nothing on him at all, dazzled by his finish, wowed by his skills, they cheered for him at the finish line!

Only--

A voice was heard then, cutting through the applause and the praise – shattering the dream around him in an instant. A familiar voice- Breakdown? Deep down, somewhere, he felt guilt once more. He had, after all, basically vanished without a trace back at the base without so much as a word. Rather than seeing to Breakdown's injuries when they arrived to safety, he'd fussed about getting a door for himself first. If he'd worked on Breakdown first before his own selfish needs, maybe he could've gotten a chance to explain where he was going, explain that he was needed here to help work this mess out. Then at least Breakdown would've been fixed up – even just a little bit, with the crappy supplies at Blackridge. He was probably so worried to have gone back to an empty med bay...

It was this sudden pang of guilt that stirred him from recharge, and for a second there he, stupidly and hopefully, expected the big blue lug to be standing in front of him.

But it wasn't to be. His gaze settled on Soundwave, and he found himself instinctively clutching onto the energon prod a little tighter.

“Huh? What? Did something happen?” While there wasn't any panic in his tone, there was a moment of genuine, tired confusion as his systems whirred to life after idling for a few hours. His optics brightening as he looked around with a small ex-vent of a sigh. Still in the Nemesis. Still upside down.

Still doomed.

Part of him had been hoping that the whole thing was one giant and horrible nightmare to begin with, but alas... it was not to be.

At least he felt a little better after some much-needed rest, though, but who even knew what was to come next in this mess.

“So, what's the plan...?” He asked quietly – attention shifting back to the Spymaster as he spoke, peering at him closely. Soundwave hadn't snapped and gone feral, at least. Then again with that weird object removed from his side, he wondered if that'd be enough to prevent that from happening.

He hoped so.

Carefully, he'd ease himself up and onto his pedes, brushing himself down because after sitting on the floor for so long? He felt absolutely filthy.

[Soundwave]

At Knock Out's question, Soundwave's visor illuminated.

The Energon that had been smeared on its bottom edge, and up the inside of the slick plate, had since been cleaned out by the Medic during surgery. It left the image sharp and clean, with no obstructions to bleed over the lower portion of the screen. It was with the clarity, coordinates popped up, that were paired with a wireframe of a mountain landscape, as well as information and labels to coordinate with it in their native language. The small white lines etched and wrote out ample amounts of things, but really, all Knock Out needed to understand, was that it was Haven, which meant it was prepared and Quarantine was established.

Trusting however that the medic was groggy and still booting online, Soundwave opted to channel Starscream's words, the verbal response very clear-cut and informative so that there would be no mistaking the directive. The small jittering lines that painted out the Second in Command's words, showed up on the bottom side of the screen, beneath the title of Haven.

/͠/Quarantine acquired and ready. Haven//̷

It was time to go.

Turning after his point was made, Soundwave eased a bit upright, having leaned minimally to properly make his screen visible to the shorter mech, before turning to walk towards where they had started to gather their supplies. If Knock Out were to proceed forward, he would be able to easily see that the organized chaos he had left, was now properly packaged and truly organized, with even more supplies acquired and placed among. While much of the medical bay had been stripped clean by Starscream and his Vehicons, anything of value that was left behind or missed, had then been collected, also paired with a few trips elsewhere in the Nemesis.

Not all of the containers appeared to be in good shape. Cracks here, dents there... some had spills stained upon their sides, while others had been re-packaged in other vessels. There was some more Energon, as well as processing tools from laboratories, and a myriad of raw chemicals that could have some value, some with new labels since they had to change containers. Soundwave was no chemist, and he did not know if truly ALL of them had value, but he picked what he did know, mounting many of the collected wares upon dollies that had the locks engaged due to the slant of the floor.

He knew he shouldn't have been doing as much as he had, given the surgery he had undergone, and the pain he felt, but his discomfort was masked away under a steely resolve, and he felt an obligation and NEED to do what he could and beyond, since... well... this was really his fault. Even if he was ill, even if he wasn't himself, even if he was possessed by whatever had happened, he should have had the willpower, he should have been able to fight it, and he did not... His failure to do so, mixed poorly with the fact he simply had the power and the ability to do more than just scratch up Knock Out as Flatline had.

Calmly, Soundwave looked at Knock Out, awaiting directive.

[Knock Out]

Knock Out's optics would narrow into a squint as he looked up at Soundwave's visor. He didn't know the displayed coordinates off the top of his helm, but the wireframe was sort of familiar. Not that it mattered even if it wasn't, he'd read the initial message to Starscream from the Spymaster and it didn't take a genius to work out what was being shown.

Haven.

The playback of the Second in Command's voice was heard a moment later, and Knock Out would listen – bobbing his helm in reply.

“Well, that was fast... I thought it'd at least be another day or two to get that set up.” His voice tired sounding, still a little groggy. Things had moved fast, but then again he expected nothing less of Starscream to get things done quickly – especially things like this. He gave a gentle grunt as he rolled and stretched his shoulders, raising one servo in a tired half-smear down his faceplate. Half, because he'd all but forgotten about the deep scratches down his faceplate that he still had to see to. They hurt upon touching, and he'd grimace and flinched away, shifting his servo back to his side.

It was then his gaze settled and he saw the new state of the room, and he'd take a few careful steps forward over the ceiling-turned-floor to get a closer look at just what Soundwave had done in the moments of downtime.

“Wow, someone was busy. Ah - thank you, Soundwave.” This would certainly speed things along, he'd honestly been dreading being sent back into the depths of the Nemesis to retrieve more supplies – but now he wouldn't have to. Anything else that was needed could be scavenged later by Vehicons he assumed. He was surprised at how much Soundwave had managed to get, sure he'd been asleep almost an entire day but... Still, Soundwave was nothing but efficient. And managing to navigate the upside down Nemesis and bring everything back? That took some skill!

There was silence again, Soundwave was looking at him as if expecting something. Gently he'd clear his throat, before making his way over to Flatline.

“Soundwave, how are you feeling?” He figured he should at least ask. His attention was on Flatline, namely the machine that he was hooked up to – checking his vitals, and everything was still looking good. The medically induced stasis was holding – which was another load off his mind.

“I suppose you can groundbridge us directly there, no? Then it's a case of moving everything through as quickly as possible. Flatline being the priority, of course, then the supplies. It'll just be us moving things, I assume – given we'll be moving straight into the quarantine zone?”

Part of him hoped that maybe the quarantine zone was close enough to the bar at Haven and that somehow, maybe, he'd be able to sneak himself - or convince a Neutral to do so - a drink or ten after this was all over and done with.

“I suppose let's get this out the way, hm? Sooner we're there, sooner we – or I – can work this out.” He sighed.

[Soundwave]

As Knock Out commented upon the collected supplies, Soundwave replied.

/̛/The prompt acquisition and stockpiling as well as the efficiency with which your goals are met, or the failure thereof, will rest on you. Not your workforce/͠/

More often than not, when Soundwave played a recording, it was a reminder of something, or it was a mock attempt to speak without actually doing so. It stood in for his voice, clipped and meshed together, using others words to compile an idea that can be made far clearer through vocalizations than simply writing them down or displaying a graph to convey. However this was not always the case and what happened now was one of those seldom seen examples that deviated from the norm.

While Shockwave's voice carried out, the black screen displaying the bobbing lines that fluctuated with each word, there was an action paired up with them as well. A subtle incline of a helm, followed shortly after with a raised index finger that gestured absently up, as if making a point. It was almost as if he were gesturing to the idea itself, finding validity or agreement with the spoken words, and in turn sharing the idea with Knock Out.

Not that he expected Knock Out to follow.

He probably would always rely on 'grunts' or Breakdown to stockpile for him.

But then the subject turned more directly upon Soundwave.

The navy mech blankly stared over at Knock Out while he checked over Flatline and continued to speak, not really responding to the question about how he was doing. Really, Soundwave was not feeling too well. He was exhausted as well, had surgical wounds that were not eased in any way, and he was still trying to contend with a feeling of instability, and come to terms with what had happened with the ship. All of these could be cast aside however... Sleep could come later, injuries will not slow him down, he had Ravage to lean on to keep stable, and lastly, dwelling over what had happened, could not change what WILL happen.

At the mention of getting things out of the way, Soundwave's screen illuminated abruptly, and the wireframe grid that showed a few moments before, now zoomed in to a sort of overhead surveillance map of Haven. A few targeting points, some data streaming, a sort of cursory handshake to double check the coordinates to Starscream's and his records to make sure they were not going to be transported into a rock wall... and suddenly a Bridge ripped open with a loud roar.

The illumination of the Bridge was blaring in the dark confines of the ship. Vibrant flecks of blue, teal and white, thrown out from the rotating portal to skitter and bounce across metal nearby. It growled angrily through the silence, the sound it made seeming twice as fierce due to how silent it had been previously. Soundwave, merely stared back into the white void, seeming to think to himself for a moment, before moving and starting to walk forward.

While he just spoke about the virtues of doing one's own work, and not simply relying upon others, he also recognized when he was injured. Stockpiling one or two objects at a time onto a cart, was not a lot of strenuous labor, but pushing said cart?... that was something else. To put in the force needed to roll it up the gradual hill, would likely strain his systems a bit. It wasn’t that he wasn't strong enough, it wasn’t THAT difficult, but his torso had been torn open and bared to the world not more than 48 hours earlier, and the surgical site nipped and bit in pain at even small movements. Because of this, he paused, looking back at Knock Out, expecting him to follow, and leave the labor to the Vehicons that could come through at their command once they were on the other side.

[Knock Out]

Did...

Did Soundwave just sass him? That was the only thing he got from the sentence and the raised index finger. He wasn't even sure how to react to it – contest it and defend himself, explain that he'd needed to rest and that he would've gladly gone to get more supplies if needed... Or stay quiet?

Staying quiet was probably best. He wasn't sure what... state... Soundwave was in right now. He may not have been feral but he'd been so obviously annoyed earlier, and the last thing Knock Out wanted was to say or do the wrong thing and trigger something to make him snap into violence. Not while they were so close to getting this whole mess sorted out. Or at least he hoped they were.

No, he wouldn't reply to it. Merely giving a light shrug. While Soundwave was mostly correct in that he did get Breakdown to do more menial, physical tasks for him such as gathering supplies and stockpiling resources? In terms of crisis, Knock Out wasn't useless – he had, and would help with the movement of supplies – and if he hadn't been in recharge? Probably would've offered to go with Soundwave around the ship to get what they could.

He'd complain the entire time, obviously, but hey it's the thought that counts.

Flatline's vitals were looking good, there hadn't been any changes to anything that he could outwardly see. And while Soundwave didn't give a vocal response to how he was feeling, he decided that no noise was good – totally unaware that the reality was that the Spymaster was in quite a lot of pain.

Of course, Soundwave couldn't hide that forever – Haven had a better medical bay than what they were currently standing in, and he fully intended to see to him properly in all due time. Just because he'd removed weirdly similar objects from both Flatline and Soundwave did not mean that they were out of the woods yet. There was more to it, and he fully intended to get to the bottom of it all.

The bridge came suddenly, illuminating them in a brilliant light that made Knock Out squint. It was a welcome sight; and even if it wasn't going anywhere nice? It was still their passage off the doomed Nemesis and for that alone Knock Out was thankful.

Almost like he was trying to prove a point in that he wasn't above doing heavy lifting, Knock Out would move to pick up a couple of boxes of supplies. He wasn't a heavy hitter and nor did he have a lot of bulk - meaning he couldn't carry as much as someone like Breakdown probably could, but he was going to try, dangit. If only to save himself from more quiet, judging looks from the Spymaster later on.

Everything else could be brought by Vehicons, probably – although the point of a quarantine was to keep people contained so he wasn't sure if that'd work, but... For now, he did what he could and would follow Soundwave with the few meager supplies he could carry, while still awkwardly clinging to his Energon Prod.

[Soundwave]

Weirdly enough, Soundwave was not really intending to sass, merely expressing a belief he followed. It was on the same path as if someone were to state they believe that good karma follow those that do good through their lives. That said, the navy mech was not the best for idle chatter, in fact, it was exceptionally out of the norm, so it was understandable that there was a certain level of miscommunication in play. What he could pick up however, was the confusion that came out of Knock Out at his words.

He knew the red mech had to have understood him; Shockwave's words were decisive and articulate, there was no accent to it to speak of, and the concept was a simple one. Did he misinterpret the intention behind it? Perhaps his placement of the statement was misguided, or taken the wrong way. That had to be it, but frankly, Soundwave did not really care enough to clarify further. It is because of this, he didn't offer any other form of communication, before the bridge tore open to invite them inside.

While transporting to Haven was not an ideal situation, it was utilizing the foolhardy truce to the fullest of its extent during their trying moments. It would grant them a stable and clean environment to work within, one that was actually level, unlike the sloped floors in their current 'cage'. In addition, it would also preserve Blackridge, and would not compromise all of Pyrotech's efforts. It was a logical next course of action, the only step now separating them being the labor involved.

A steady gaze, a focused watch.

Soundwave did not move ahead to abandon Knock Out. He did not continue through the vortex assuming the mech would follow. While he knew the other Cybertronian had full intentions to go through to get out of this pit of death, he also knew he should show some kind of unity for the moment and not just cast him aside as garbage. Because of this he waited, and watched, taking note how Knock Out picked up a few supplies before scuttling after.

Nothing was said, no reaction was offered. No approval, no scoff, not anything. All Soundwave did, was turn and start to walk through once Knock Out was nearly upon him, transporting to the other side where the environment shifted violently from dreary and damp with a pungent stench of medical waste and salt, to a dry unsoiled environment with a bite of chemical cleaners and a touch of earth and rock sediment. It was relieving, even the small details like having an actual flat ground beneath ones peds to walk across.

Walking further into the room, Soundwave got out of the way while observing what had been set up for them. It appeared secluded, a newer portion of the base that was likely easy to lock away from others. The walls showed signs that it had once been a chamber in the grand mine that Haven stood upon, but the fuel that had lined its walls, had since been scraped clear. While raw rock was exposed in some areas, there was not a thick layer of dirt across the floor. There was some dust, likely not to the medic's standards, but it should not be difficult to clean to need.

Tools and diagnostic devices had been wheeled in for them to use, nothing extravagant, nothing that can't be destroyed if the plague were truly virulent and heinous... but still useful and worth something. The objects were mostly Cybertronian in design and origin, but were peppered with makeshift constructions using bits of human technology to fill in the gaps that remained. It left some of it looking a tad cobbled, wires handing out of the sides, a few buttons blacked out and not connected to anything... It wasn't fabulous, but it didn’t have to contend with much considering how bad the Nemesis had became overnight.

Stopping out of the way, Soundwave watched as a pair of Vehicons that were chosen to be Quarantine workers begrudgingly walked through the portal after Knock Out made his entrance. The two individuals did not seem thrilled at possibly being exposed to what was happening, but such was life. They needed help, and not everyone could be lucky enough to avoid the job. While they started to wheel in the medical carts and gathered supplies ((as well as try to maneuver Flatline through the portal)), Soundwave would look over to see what the red mech would do next.

[Knock Out]

The cherry-red mech wasn't usually one to feel self conscious. Attention? He relished in it!

But for some reason feeling Soundwave's gaze squarely on him as he picked up what little supplies he could manage and began making his way over to the swirling green vortex? Ohh it felt weird, and he felt rather small and insignificant all of a sudden. Not all attention was good, and while he was usually able to spin most negative things into a positive light? This time he couldn't – namely because of who it was he was dealing with. While there may have been some misunderstanding in what message Soundwave was trying to convey with Shockwave's words, that could simply be played off as Knock Out only just waking up from recharge and not being fully with it yet. The stare however... you never knew what Soundwave was thinking, and when his silent gaze was on you for long periods it probably wasn't anything good.

Or maybe he was just being paranoid.

It was even worse that Soundwave waited for him, too. He struggled a little with what he was carrying, trying to balance it with the energon prod he clutched awkwardly with one servo. Too prideful to ask Soundwave for help though, paired with the fact he'd already asked much of the Spymaster just the prior day. No, he would carry this stuff alone and without aid – as awkward as it may be. As he got closer, Soundwave would turn on his heel and move through – with Knock Out trailing close behind.

He'd been to Haven once before – having been here just the same evening that the Nemesis had gone down. Although he hadn't explored around too much, he'd poked around their Medical Bay and then gone straight to the Bar area. This room that'd been cornered off for them was neither, although a few pieces of medical equipment he'd seen earlier had been wheeled in for him to use.

It was comforting to be back on solid ground at least, even if he wanted nothing more to be back at Blackridge setting up the Medical Bay there to his liking. As barebones as it was here in this quarantine area, it was leaps and bounds better than what he'd been working with on the upside-down Nemesis. Less danger. Less creepy noises. Less feeling that the whole place was about to collapse and kill him in an instant...

Vehicons were stationed here, too. He didn't recognize them – they all looked the same to him and he cared little for their designation. Breakdown would've known in an instant which one was which, though – he took note of each one and knew most if not all of their names; and while they were all the same build and frame, they were all unique with little scuffs, markings and mannerisms that – to someone who cared – could be used to differentiate them from one another.

At least he could use them to hold Soundwave back if he was still in danger of turning...

While they maneuvered the rest of the supplies through, Knock Out would assess the equipment that'd been placed around the room. Diagnostic devices, monitors... After seeing what he had inside Flatline and Soundwave, the first thing he wanted to do was take samples of their Energon and also get a better look at the weird silver...blob... things.

First things first though, and he'd move to start pulling innocuous lines from the crook of Flatline's arm – hooking them up to the monitors so he could watch his vitals and other signs. While the black and red mech was still in the medical stasis it was hard to tell at a glance if anything was going on internally, and after a moment the machines would blip to life with familiar readouts and glyphs.

So far so good.

Then he'd make his way over to the crates of supplies, rummaging through them until he found what he wanted – two syringe-like devices, used for retrieving Energon or other fluids from various lines. Obviously he didn't want to have any cross-contamination, and would set one down on the bench beside Flatline before turning to Soundwave, the other in his servo.

“Soundwave, while this machinery is... basic, it should serve the purpose I require it for. I ah – you wouldn't be opposed to me taking a sample of your Energon, would you?” he was polite and as formal as ever, still overly wary of the mental state of the Spymaster. While he could just take Energon from Flatline no issue, Soundwave was still alert and conscious – and he wasn't about to shank him with the syringe to get what he wanted. “The machines may need a little time to run the samples is all, and I'd rather get that going as soon as possible while I look at the... things that I retrieved from both yourself and Flatline.”

Oh how he wished he wasn't doing this alone. Having Shockwave, or heck even a not unconscious and totally batshit crazy when awake Flatline would be amazing right now...

[Soundwave]

Soundwave simply became a shadow in the corner while the Vehicons transported things inside of the quarantine, and Knock Out explored what was available to him.

Transporting of Flatline and the supplies was a quick and efficient process all things considered, the troopers trying to get in and out as rapidly as they could so that they didn’t get stuck on the other side of the gateway at the Nemesis. They almost seemed to hesitate before walking through to the warship, wary that things would end poorly for them, but once they were through it would only be brief moments before they had returned, effectively getting everything that had been set out transported into the room in full. Once the last of the carts came through, the gateway closed with a crash, leaving the room in newfound silence that somehow was more tolerable than the Nemesis.

While it was quiet, there were no longer the haunting overtones of distant rumbles, or the warbled noises of sounds pitched through compressed air. It was far more peaceful and normal here, grounded in a tangible and stable location that’s only threat would be a collapse that was far from happening. It made it so that the actions of the troopers were easily heard, one scraping its feet off on the ground with a disgruntled noise.

It seemed one of the Vehicons had stepped in something, trying to smear the medical waste off of their ped down onto the stone flooring below. The other Vehicon seemed appalled at this, taking a step back and away with hands up in the air in a desire to NOT have to clean up after it. He would hiss to the first one, speaking in hushed tones to not disturb Knock Out.

"Gross, this is a medical area; you should wipe it off in a towel!"

"Yeah but I'd have to track it to get one, this way I just mop!"

"The grime is still there even if you don’t see it..."

A noncommittal grunt, the 'neater' of the two would back off and begin unloading the first cart, trying to figure out where things were meant to go. The other Vehicon looked down at their ped, trying to calculate what he SHOULD do.

Knock Out then approached Soundwave.

The navy mech's helm seemed to rise from a downward angle when the mech came forward, focusing down at him while he asked for a sample of fuel. It was an easy request to allow, and was something that would be needed to help process and diagnose the situation. Because of this, Soundwave's right arm lifted, and folded out in front of him, exposing the limb to the medic so that he could pull fuel out from the inner elbow or wrist; whichever he could get a better read on.

Soundwave knew that his limb was narrow however, and he half wondered if Knock Out would need a larger line to pull from when doing so standing and not braced against a flat surface to make perfectly immobile. It should be fine however, even if his visible joints were rather delicate and small compared to others, the Energon lines woven through hinges and snaked beneath narrow panels.

The two troopers didn’t seem to even notice the exchange happening.

"Tadaa!"

The one that had stepped in grime was showing off the ped to the other mech, it appearing clean enough, though the other soldier only reeled in dismay.

"Do you expect me to be proud...?"

"...kinda'..."

[Knock Out]

The ground bridge swirled to a close and everything was quiet for a moment. The situation still wasn't normal, not by a long shot – this whole predicament they found themselves in was still confusing as ever – he hadn't gotten any closer to finding out what'd caused Flatline to snap and attack him, or Soundwave to purposefully crash the Nemesis into the Ocean... but, it was quiet.

The first tiny step into getting things back on track.

The Vehicons were talking amongst themselves quietly, and while Knock Out was still very much on edge over everything, having some normalcy in the room in the form of Vehicons bickering to each other was a blessing. He wasn't paying too much attention to their words, he had work to do and had no excuses now that he had the equipment and means to do so. Probably a good thing, as he would've no doubt chastised and fussed over the fact one of them had brought something into the quarantine area on the bottom of his pede.

His request to Soundwave was met with silence, not that he'd expected anything less, but the Spymaster's arm would lift and move to be held out infront of him as if silently giving him the go ahead to do what was needed. He'd done this countless times before, hooking innocuous lines from many a mech – Soundwave included – into diagnostics machines for routine maintenance and checkups. The only difference this time was the fact Soundwave was standing and the arm wasn't resting on something solid.

Problematic, yes, but workable.

The arm itself was angled down just enough that Knock Out could reach, but he'd turn to the side and lean up on the tips of his pedes regardless, just so it wasn't as awkward for the Spymaster. Cautiously he would lean in, deciding that the elbow would probably be the easier of the two locations to pull the Energon from. His own servos were steady, not wavering or shaking any – and within moments the needle of the syringe had tucked expertly between hinges and joints, and he pulled back on it gently – the blue liquid filling the chamber of the syringe itself.

“Perfect, thank you.” he murmured, holding the syringe up and away then.

“You can probably take a seat somewhere if you'd like, Soundwave. There's no telling how long this will take - and as you are still recovering from surgery, you probably need some downtime.” the loose translation to that sentence was probably something akin to 'please stop hovering around me while I work because you are creeping me out' but as if he'd ever say what he really meant. He was hesitant to ask if the Spymaster was in any pain. He probably was, given no pain suppressant had been administered earlier on the Nemesis, but he figured if the pain was truly unbearable, it wasn't like he could stop Soundwave in getting something for himself.

Swiveling on his heel, syringe still held up, he'd make his way over to one of the various diagnostics machines. They were simple enough to use, simply input what you wanted observing and let the machine do its thing. It was just him, as the Vehicons wouldn't know their aft from their elbow when it came to this stuff, and he was quietly thankful the machines could help him work out what exactly had plagued them. Or so he hoped, anyway.

Carefully, he'd inject some of Soundwave's Energon onto a small slide for testing, pushing it into the machine a moment later. He wouldn't use all the Energon, wanting to use the remainder on a good old fashioned microscope later to see if he could see anything odd with his own optics, but for now he would leave the machine to do its work.

Speaking of work... He caught the 'Tadaa!' from one of the Vehicons and would grumble in response, turning his attention to them with optics narrowed.

“I'm sorry, are you aware how serious this situation is? Start unpacking the containers or something, make yourselves useful for Primus sake. You weren't ordered here to simply stand around!”

Ugh. He didn't have the time nor patience for this...

[Soundwave]

Soundwave stilled his arm while Knock Out worked. While he could remain essentially motionless for hours, it was moderately different when holding a limb horizontal and having some of the line fuel taken away that would otherwise power the lower limb itself. Because of this, when the medic seemed to choose the elbow as the starting point instead of the wrist, Soundwave would lower the rest of his arm to be more down at his side. Not only would this aid in keeping things steady, it would flare the joint open more so that more was visible. It was simply an added convenience that their natural height difference meant that Knock Out would not need to kneel or bend down to work.

The Energon that was extracted looked the same as any other fuel at a visual glance. It was blue, it had some 'thickness' to the viscosity so it did not flow like water in the chamber, and it still had a faint glow to it that was not overly bright or dim. Really, everything about it just seemed as normal as can be, despite the contrary likely being true.

It was obvious that Knock Out would prefer he back down by the words that followed immediately after. Soundwave was aware he could be imposing, and threatening. Even when he was out of his element in a field of practice he was not skilled within, he could give off an air of superiority and pressure others in the process without intending to do so. Reputation could be an ugly thing to contend with, and while it helped to keep some in line so they did not belittle or become flippant with tasks, it could also unnerve others and impair important situations.

However, he wanted to help.

But Knock Out had two Vehicons to do that much...

Yet, they did not seem particularly skilled, Soundwave watching as they were scolded.

The fact Knock Out had said 'yourselves' seemed to offend the one Vehicon who was already holding a box. He tightened the grip he had on the one container, wanting to point out the fact that it was the OTHER trooper that was acting out of line, and not him, but... he knew that doing so would cause a fight, and things were serious and they had to just shut up and do their jobs. While he was smart enough to stay hush, it didn’t stop him from casting a particularly nasty glare in the direction of the other worker before going back to work, which was an impressive feat given the fact that they had no expressions in order to convey as much.

The worker who had been misbehaving stopped what he was doing, and stared back at Knock Out with a nervous sort of uncertainty. He felt like he had been useful, and was simply trying to figure out how to work with quarantine proper and cleaning up the mess he tracked back from the other Medical Bay. Now that he was scolded however, he shied away some, and looked down at the mess, before he awkwardly hopped over to where the rags were stored to clean his foot legitimate and not just scrape it all over the floor like some cretin. It was still ungraceful, it was not quiet to have him hop and skip over, but it worked to keep any unseen mess from getting on the floor.

This was... actually not settling well with Soundwave, to a point he seemed to visually stiffen and seem unsettled on some levels at the clunking of the Vehicons steps. Logically he tried to supply reasons as to why the trooper that was assigned was so inept. Stress can really affect anyone in varied ways; maybe he was forgoing common sense simply because he was in shock. While sentience is a blessing, and he wanted to learn more about how the troopers obtained such a thing, it was also a burden as such things would not have happened if this individual was following routine protocols.

It was frustrating.

Which was a bad mix for Soundwave right now.

The thin needles along the navy mech's back seemed to bristle a bit, his agitation and unstable emotions, starting to mix venomously with his pain and general lack of help and anything to focus on at the moment but his inner thoughts. It is because of this he pushed into movement with a sort of unnatural lurch. An unsteady first few steps, an unreeling of the data cables... Soundwave was making a direct beeline towards the computer terminal in the room, his gait smoothing out after a moment to the far more normal and recognizable lope that landed him before the station.

Just as he stepped up before the unoccupied screen, the data cables connected soundly into the terminal and locked down into place, the barbed prongs on either side almost gripping hold of the surrounding metal with a bit too much force. The moment that the spymaster was plugged in, the blue home screen of Haven's quarantined computer, blacked out and went completely dead. A pop, a churn of the digital system turning over, a few white glyphs clicking and etching along the top of the screen... a moment later the entire system came back online with a black and red screen that Knock Out would find instantly familiar.

The Decepticon 'home screen' flooded into place, followed by a glyphed folder on the far side labeled 'Haven'. This held all of the already in place Haven systems in a nice and neat separated subsection, while everything else that was far more familiar began flowing in. A large progress bar was settled right in the centermost point, etching across the screen with subtle blips, the backdrop behind filling gradually one by one with every bit of recorded systems Soundwave still had on file that pertained to the Medical Bay.

[Knock Out]

Knock Out could only watch with folded arms as the two Vehicons seemed to realize the severity of the situation and began moving into action. The 'glare' from the one holding the box toward the other meant, he hoped, that the more serious of the pair would keep the other in line during their time here in the quarantine zone. He'd probably get an earful from Breakdown later about being mean and generalizing the Vehicons rather than addressing the one who was causing issue, but that was a problem for the future – one which he absolutely would not put up with.

His gaze lingered on the Vehicon as he awkwardly hopped away, although the Spymaster's movement caught his attention from the corner of an optic – and he'd slowly turn his helm to check he was alright. Was the clunking noise a bother to the navy mech? Certain things had made Soundwave's frame tense earlier on the Nemesis, like he was having a reaction to something but obviously remaining silent as to just what it was. Unfortunately the angle of which Soundwave was stood meant he couldn't see the thin needles bristle on his back, but due to his focus and attention on the Spymaster, there were the most subtle of flickers in the other mechs field that he was agitated.

Not that he really needed to look at Soundwave to realize that. He knew that already from their interactions on the Nemesis that the Spymaster was probably on a short fuse right now; but the Vehicons seemed blissfully unaware of the ticking timebomb that stood before them.

Should he snap at them further? Yell at him to walk like a normal person? Would that make things worse? Whatever had been traipsed into the Quarantine would have to be cleaned regardless as he'd set his pede down on the floor when he'd first arrived but--

Movement from Soundwave.

Knock Out was on edge, expecting the Spymaster to snap like Flatline had at any moment – attacking and no doubt killing them all in an instant. But that time was not now, Soundwave simply moving over to the computer in the room in a lurch that seemed to taper off into a normal stride, and the CMO tried to relax his shoulders which had hiked up some in alarm. Primus how was he supposed to get any work done when he was so jumpy at every movement from Soundwave?

Relax.

A deep, vented intake later and he turned his attention back to the machine which he'd put the sample into. The centrifuge was still working, whirring as it spun and did what it was supposed to – but no readouts had been made yet, given it'd only been mere seconds since he'd started the process. No amount of staring at it and silently willing it to go faster would work, he simply had to be patient.

Attention shifting back to Soundwave, just to watch from a distance what he was doing. There was a brief moment of alarm as the computer seemed to die at Soundwave's touch, but that did not last as a few moments later there was some familiarity in the black and red screen that Knock Out knew well.

“Ah, excellent! That'll save us some time – thank you.” he didn't want to be seen as sucking up to Soundwave, but was trying to lavish some praise and acknowledgment just to try and stay on his good side – even if the Spymaster was probably the last mech on Earth that'd actually work on.

“I suppose while the machine is working on your sample I'll take a look at Flatline's Energon the old fashioned way.” he hummed, thinking. He didn't have to speak aloud with what he was actually doing but for some reason it helped keep him focused.

With that, he'd make his way over to some of the tools that'd been supplied, taking a scalpel looking thing and moving over to Flatline. The black and red mech was still out of it, but he was still a little wary in leaning down over him – using the tool to gently scrape at some of the crystallized Energon from around his mouth. Normally he would've cleaned all of this up earlier when he'd first worked on Flatline, but given he wasn't quite sure what was going on? He'd left it for the sake of sample taking later.

Carefully he'd ease up a crystal, prying it away and keeping it held steady on the flat of the blade as he made his way over to a rather simple looking microscope. He was a little wary about having his back turned to Soundwave, but the two Vehicons in here would hopefully have his back – as inept as they both seemed to be.

Using the flat of the blade he'd crush part of the crystallized Energon, being careful not to touch it as best he could as he then moved it onto a slide, pushing it under the microscope lens. He wasn't sure what he was going to see when he looked through the eyepiece, but hopefully it'd be something obvious.

[Soundwave]

The pop and banging of the Vehicon's progress, halted after a few moments before the work basin sink, letting his raised leg hang down to a point the sharp tip of the ped nearly touched the floor below. Now that he was here, he reached forward, and began to wet a washrag, using a simple cleaner and rubbing well so that he could start to foam up the soap. He was very much focused on this task, trying to stay in line now that he had already gotten in trouble, not wanting a repeat offense of any kind, at least... not without a kind buffer of 'good behavior' to frame out the mistakes. Squeezing out an abundance of water from the cloth so it didn't splatter, the soldier moved to wipe down his foot properly.

While the more foolish of the two worked on this, the other assistant was busy putting things away. He pulled supplies one by one out of the boxes, and started to try to categorize them out as best he could with his limited knowledge. While he was capable of working medicine, he wasn’t on Knock Out's level, and so a few of the more advanced tools that went beyond generic first aid were lost to him. Because of this, there was a pile started of 'miscellaneous'. The trooper figured that once Knock Out had a moment of downtime, he could inform where he wanted the objects put away. Until then, it would be a safe, out of the way table, that hopefully would not be needed immediately in the next hour. With this safe staging area started, the Vehicon would begin trying to organize what chemicals there were, trying to put them in order so they could be referenced at ease.

This new relative silence, plus an actual task to focus on, seemed to help Soundwave for these moments, his helm turning only when Knock Out thanked him for his efforts once it was apparent what he was doing. There was no nod in acknowledgement, no nothing in reply, instead, Soundwave simply took the words for what they were, and went back to task, focused on trying to scrounge up any information he could compile that would be relevant to also include.

While he had an extensive database of information, Soundwave could not recover EVERYTHING from the downed ship. He would do what he could however. The progress bar meanwhile, slowly crept across the screen while the medic got to work on trying to see what he could see without the analyzed fuel.

Flatline, did not respond as Knock Out took the sample and worked.

But that was no surprise given his injuries.

Whatever the case, the particles of the Energon seemed to be aligned a bit oddly.

While raw Energon that was still in a crystal shape would have very distinct formations and spires, holding sharp edges flowing in all the same direction with a few flecked impurities at points, the Energon pulled from Flatline was very much different. While it appeared the same visually, under the microscope it almost looked honeycombed like metal mixed with other minerals. Irons, some Cybertronian alloys, nothing out of line to see mixed into fuel, as well as the larger repair nanites that were frozen in place within the structure.

The nanites acted like an anchor in a way, minerals collecting and sticking to their side, while branches of metal filaments eased out, trying to patch a small hole or injury that was not nearby. The pattern of the honeycomb grew denser around these, and more scarce in between.

[Knock Out]

Things had started to settle down now, and for that? Knock Out was thankful.

The quiet was most welcome – and while he was often found listening to music when he worked, that was on the more mundane day to day tasks that didn't require much thought. Things like this though needed his absolute concentration and unwavering attention. Even if he had this equipment on the Nemesis, the distraction of the impending doom would've been far too distracting for him to get much of anything done.

It seemed he wasn't the only one enjoying the now mostly-silence, and was thankful that Soundwave had found something to keep himself occupied that didn't involve looming over him silently. While it probably wouldn't last, for the time being the Spymaster was out of the way and kept focused on his task.

Just like Knock Out was.

He'd squint down at the microscope, keeping one servo on it to keep it steady and to also adjust the zoom, with the other was delicately holding the edge of the slide so he could move it into focus as needed.

What he saw shocked him, but at the same time it didn't. Something had been so obviously wrong, from the snapping of Flatline's psyche, his white optics... the crystallized Energon and the thing that'd been removed from inside his frame. So to have it here in front of him, verified as physical evidence that something had gone horribly wrong? It was a bit of a relief. It meant it could be treated – and while he wasn't at the stage of working out just exactly how to do that yet, this was a start.

If only Shockwave were around. Maybe he'd seen something like this before and could speed up the process of reversing things. Knock Out had worked with tainted Energon many a time, an unfortunate side-effect of working in the midst of a war - which was partly why he was remaining so composed as he tweaked dials and levers, looking closer at the strange formations – but he'd never seen anything like this before.

This was new.

The machine continued to whir behind him as the centrifuge spun, and he hoped that it'd offer a deeper insight at a chemical level as to just what he was looking at here. Obviously he'd have to look at Soundwave's Energon through the microscope to keep the tests fair – and once the machine was done with the Spymaster's Energon, he'd have to put through a sample of Flatline's.

Even if he was fairly certain this was the same thing, for some reason (which he was thankful for) Soundwave hadn't snapped yet – and he didn't have the tell-tale sign of white optics to go along with it.

Carefully he'd ease the slide out from the microscope and set it down beside it on the bench. Then he'd move to the syringe of Soundwave's Energon that he'd set down only moments prior – picking it up and frowning.

“Seriously?” there was a hint of annoyance in his tone as he murmured to himself, and he'd hold it up to the light and flicked the side of it a couple of times, humming quietly in thought. There was the tiniest tell-tale clink as something solid fell down onto the bench at the flick. There had been a drop of Energon on the tip of the needle and it'd completely solidified into a bead. While the majority of the Energon inside the syringe itself was still in a liquid-like state, as he gently turned it there were flickers of light reflecting off small partial crystals.

Had it reacted to the air? Or was it because it was no longer being moved through Soundwave's lines?

Before the whole sample crystallized on him, he'd push the end of the syringe so the liquid Energon was oozed onto another slide. If his theory was correct and it was reacting to the air around them, maybe he'd get to see it revert back to crystal form under the microscope – it wasn't like he could do much else while the machine analyzed what it could.

Being careful not to drop it, he'd ease the slide back under the lens and would again lean down to look through it, oblivious to the goings on around him as he did.