[ti]Ep 3.5[/ti]Making Noise [ Closed || Miko ]

[Miko Nakadai]

The lighter words from Optimus were completely lost on Miko - she hadn't been around him long enough to even begin picking up on subtle things like that. The only thing that mattered to her was that both the Prime and Wheeljack seemed to have found some middle ground on the situation as a whole, meaning that hopefully there wouldn't be any more arguments ending with a weapon drawn.

Despite her initial gasp at hearing about the Nemesis, Miko was quiet as she listened to the two Cybertronians converse. She knew she could ask Wheeljack a million and one questions later, though for now, she felt like she was getting some sort of secret inside knowledge on something she probably shouldn't be too privy to - even if the likelihood of all the Autobots already knowing about this was probably pretty high.

Starscream had told them about the Nemesis? But why? Could he even be trusted? Before the fall of Haven…

Wrinkling her nose, Miko thought back to that day. How almost everyone had gone, and… while everyone had returned, there were a lot of injuries. Some far worse than others, and while she hadn't pestered for details or specifics, she knew the Autobots had been lucky.

She hoped there'd be further details the more the pair talked, though it seemed Optimus was being vague. Probably for good reason, or maybe he simply didn't know enough to give further information.

Still, though, with Wheeljack here? He could help them find wherever the Nemesis had gone, either via finding it himself with the Jackhammer, or finding Starscream and kicking his aft for more answers.

The thought made her smile, though not too much - the last thing she wanted was to somehow get herself into trouble!

[Optimus Prime]

Optimus wasn’t exactly certain what was meant by the statement at the end of the other mech's words, for he seemed to have already made a choice on his own that would hit both issues with one metaphorical stone, though he would address it with additional clarity nonetheless.

"I wish for you to use the freedom you have been granted to do as you feel best."

This is what it meant to follow him. Come to heel to fight when things were dire. Support the team and take on assigned missions when it was necessary. Adhere to basic rules that all were expected to follow to not jeopardize the safety of others or their standing on whatever world they ended up on... and in turn?... Wheeljack would be given the lead he so desired. It was perhaps further evidence of the agreement the two had come to, and in other days down the line the Prime may have taken a different approach to push him in the direction he felt was most ideal. Right here in the now, however? No. The Wrecker had shown an ability to forge his own path to a point where he had found mines in the past on his own, and to restrict that after he had just taken a large step forward to declare he would try to follow him was unwise. His choice would be rewarded in the only real way Optimus knew how.

Though there would still be one singular focus.

"Patch is of utmost priority. Where she will be found is unknown."

Nemesis? Mines? Outlier base...?

Her missing status absolutely tormented Optimus, though he would never overtly show as much despite the general aura of exhaustion that seemed to radiate from him beyond all efforts. Thinking constantly about where she was, if she was okay, or even if she was alive any longer. The lattermost felt unlikely should the Decepticons have truly found her, as he believed such a thing would have been declared already as some blow to their morale, while also being a loss of information on their part. MECH was still a possibility, yet that felt unlikely given the evidence shown, not that any of that was strictly factual.

There was enough to show otherwise, however.

If the Decepticons had her and she was not dead, there was no way of knowing just how much she may have told them, whether willingly to avoid torture, or through other means such as the Cortical Psychic Patch. In that case, there was a good chance they knew where Omega was and were simply waiting for the best moment. Monitoring. Watching. Rats clustered together in a den begging to be snuffed out when the most damage possible could be applied. Knowing the Decepticons could even have an eye on them at this exact moment having even seen Wheeljack enter the base was an unnerving thought.

Whatever the case, Optimus remained focused, Miko still on the sidelines to him given her lack of involvement in what was happening. Part of him was surprised at her silence, having expected her to jump in with her ideas on how to fix their issues, yet perhaps she had realized the seriousness of what was going on, and the reality that the two before her were on relatively thin ice despite the seeming agreement. One ready to break free from any perceived shackles to not be beaten down into a mold, the other willing to dispose of a wildcard should it seem too volatile that it could poison the rest of the team.

[Wheeljack]

"Heard." Simple response to a simple enough answer to his question.

Wheeljack had said what he planned to do, but getting the clarification from the Prime gave him the green light leverage he needed just in case anyone decided to question him. He'd given the other mech the lead, letting him feel that he was giving the order instead of losing control of the situation, while the other inadvertedly granted him his needed freedom so he wouldn't feel that he were being put on a leash. The estalished relationship was strained, rocky, and time would tell just how long it would take for someone to overstep, but for the time being they shared a common enough ground with a mutal understanding that the Wrecker could be satisfied with. 

With any luck Optimus would continue to let him have his freedom. Time would tell how long it took for the big guy to get nervous enough to instinctively want to reign him in. 

"Any clues you can give me on the whole Patch situtation? I could fly around to every corner of this big blue marble but that probably wouldn't be very time efficent. I imagine that you've sent your own team out to scower for ideas, so worse case I can at least cross those spots out."

Wheeljack could also go to the source, which would be his usual choice. Hit up a few mines, make a lot of noise, get the Decepticon's attention. It would only be a matter of time before someone would come out of hiding to see who was knocking on their door. Problem with that was that he wasn't so sure Optimus would be for it. The big guy was keen on the whole 'in disguise' thing and leaving as small of a footprint on this planet as possible, and making a loud boom wasn't exactly something that wouldn't attract unwanted attention. The Wrecker figured that it was a reasonable enough to warrent some hesitation, he supposed, if only because MECH was an issue. Still, the idea wasn't entirely off his table if he didn't get results fast enough. 

Maybe he'd cut out the explosions and just go in with swords blazing. Maybe. 

Afterall, Miko took somewhat after him in the whole 'Louder is Better' motif. 

[Miko Nakadai]

Okay, this was getting kinda boring now.

She was fine being quiet and letting the adults talk or whatever, but this was dragging on, and on, and on… Bulk could've so easily filled Wheeljack in on things in about two seconds, though she supposed there was the whole formality to go through with Optimus, just to make sure Jackie wasn't about to ragequit the base again.

Resting her elbow on the railing, Miko propped her head up with one hand - huffing a strand of hair from her face as they continued. There were no more mentions of the Nemesis, no more things to fill her brain with awesome ideas about how to go about finding the Nemesis – not that they'd probably listen to her anyway – and so as far as Miko was concerned, this had turned into snooze territory.

Unless…

Wait!

"Why don't we just ask Knock Out?" she added helpfully after Wheeljack was done talking, standing up straight then so her voice would project better over the small distance between her and the two giants. Both hands rested on the railing as she eased up onto her tiptoes just slightly.

"He's just down there doing nothing why don't we just interrogate the slag outta him and get all the information we need to know! I bet with Wheeljack here he'd totally talk!"

It was so obvious, because as far as she knew – which admittedly wasn't much – their prisoner was simply being left alone. She hadn't heard him screaming or anything to indicate he was being tortured, which was totally what happened in situations like that, right? (Or maybe she'd seen too many violent movies) - it was time to use him to find out about the Nemesis, about Patch, about everything!

[Optimus Prime]

"Any clues you can give me on the whole Patch situtation? -"

"The site of Patch's disappearance implicates MECH. Evidence shows otherwise."

Enough so that Optimus felt confident it was fabricated, whether it was Decepticons, or someone else remained to be seen.

"I will provide a map of regions we have already surveyed and what information we sourced from the scene."

While knowing about all the small details that pointed away from MECH may not be a necessity, handing over the digital file of everything they milled up was of no issue. Whether or not Wheeljack wished to dive into all of it was his choice and his alone, as at the end of the day it led one direction far more than any others. There was no saying however, perhaps through the other mech's eye he could see something else, or know of some Cybertronian who may have gotten to Earth that it would be a calling card for. Optimus wasn't dead set on one singular path, and would be open to other ideas.

In addition to handing over this information regarding Patch, he would also need to present what they have learned about MECH, and what they were now capable of making. They had jumped so fast from seemingly nothing to having a full bipedal construct, that for all he knew they were already working on a shuttle of their own that could catch Wheeljack off guard. Offering these facts would be ideal, and would effectively be the last of major events to be spoken of, except that Miko, regretfully, took it upon herself to present another.

The topic of Knock Out was not one he planned to bring up at this juncture, knowing that each soul had their ideas on how best to handle a prisoner of war. Some with overt kindness, others with ruthless brutality, and then everything in between. None would ever fully agree with another, and as such Miko may have slammed down a new debate topic in front of them that could apply cracks to their barely patched-up bridge, while simultaneously displaying her grand ignorance about the topic as a whole.

Miko had no idea what she was speaking about, and it made him flash back instantly to hearing her talk about them 'kicking Decepticon butt', and other overenthusiastic comments that watered down what they did to a violent videogame with some larger prizes to be won at the end. She hadn't seen war before. She had never seen true death and the aftermath of a heinous battle. She did not comprehend the loss that came with it, and the echoed traumas that followed those who did live on, and he hoped she never would. He would do whatever he could to separate her from the gory reality, for it was better to remain ignorant than truly learn that lesson.

This movie filter likely came into play with their captive, Miko more likely than not thinking yelled words and a slammed hand on a table would startle someone into speaking openly due to a thin veil of a threat behind it all, or thinking that breaking someone's fingers backward was some viable way to produce truths when in reality it could create lies just so make the pain stop.

"Knock Out has been spoken to, and as of yet is uncooperative."

Which was putting it lightly, the mech fumbling around his lies when shown they were false, before going out of his way to be problematic enough that Optimus made another poor decision. Much like he had with Wheeljack, he had lost his temper to a degree, and it was something that once more repeated earlier this very same day. It begged the question of how far things would spiral, and thinking over it once more in the present started to make his recent faults that much more heinously apparent.

He needed to ground himself again and try to do something to clear his mind so he did not continue this uncalled-for trend.

"Measures are being taken to address this."

[Wheeljack]

"What?"

Wheeljack looked between Miko and Optimus, baffled by what he had just learned. 

"Wait, wait... you have Knock Out here? The Decepticon's head medic? When, exactly, were you going to let me in on that bit of information?"

He was not blind to the reaction that the Commander had the moment those words left Miko, as if he would have rewound time to stop them from hitting the air if he'd had the chance. Was it something he wasn't supposed to be aware of? Or was it because he wasn't quite trusted with that bit of information just yet? They were supposed to be settling things, patching previously made damage to the point where they could operate together without so much strain. Yet, at first chance, something as big as that was withheld? And for how long would it have been had Miko not been present?

"You know what? Nevermind." 

As much as Wheeljack wanted to bring up it up, he decided it wasn't worth it. Not now, at least. Instead he crossed one arm across his chassis and held his chin in a servo as he thought everything over. MECH was suspected of Patch's absence, though he had strong doubts about that. From what he had heard they were a very boastful group, probably far more than the Decepticons with flaunting their capabilities, and the fact they were so quiet told him it was someone other than them involved in all of this. Surely they would have seen some sign of it by this point. 

"Doubtful it's MECH," the former Wrecker spoke up, keeping his optics lowered forward as his processor did its work. "They've had plenty of time to show off. I haven't been involved much with all of that group's work, but I doubt they would have suddenly gone underground when they've been loud about showing off their advancements. A medic would give them a lot of insider knowledge that would help them jump way ahead. I don't think they'd sit on that and not show off. The Decepticons? Besides learning where you've decided to hide your team, they really wouldn't gain anything from it. Except an additional medic, or a pawn." 

Wheeljack gave Optimus a brief, knowing look. The Commander was soft sparked when it came to certain things, and if the Decepticons could use Patch to sway him in their favor as some sort of trade, he had a feeling Optimus would fall for it. With a deep vent, Wheeljack dropped his servo from his chin to cross it with the other. 

"If Knock Out isn't feeling motivated enough to talk, maybe you're just not exploiting the right weakness."

Wheeljack recalled something that Bulkhead had told him about the CMO, the details lost to him, but since Miko hung out with the wrecking ball while he was gone? Surely she would know what he didn't. So he turned his attention to her and directed his words to her. 

"Bulkhead said he seems to be really close with a big blue idiot. You know anything about that?"

[Miko Nakadai]

Unaware there was a problem with namedropping the Decepticon captive, Miko didn't realize that she'd done anything really wrong, at least not until Wheeljack spoke.

Oops.

At least she'd blurted it out here with Optimus to negate any damage, rather than on the drive over and getting Jackie all riled up, she supposed, but wasn't it a good thing that he knew, now? Maybe he'd have some sort of new idea on how to get through to him and get him blabbing all sorts of secrets. The Prime himself had said he was being uncooperative, so maybe more needed to be done in getting him to talk!

The Decepticons would have no issue torturing an Autobot prisoner, heck even Fowler had been strung up and threatened, and he was a human! Why couldn't they just make Knock Out's life super miserable to the point he started crying or something?

At least she didn't seem to be in too much trouble for speaking up, though she kind of felt like she should go back to doing that whole 'being quiet' thing - and so she did, easing down from her tiptoes and listening to Wheeljack as he gave some of his thoughts on the matter.

She didn't know too much about MECH and how they worked, though Jackie's words made sense in a way. If they did have a medic, someone who knew Cybertronian anatomy, surely they'd take advantage of that fact. Then again they could be playing the long game, using Patch's knowledge to build scarier things than the robot that Bee and Neon had run into, or testing various weapons on her to see what did the most damage to living metal.

It was hard to say, though scary to think about.

The mention of exploiting the right weakness piqued her attention further- though it was the question that was addressed to her that made her blink.

"Breakdown? Uhhh…"

She knew his name, knew that Bulk had risked his life and saved him from MECH. Knock Out and Breakdown did seem to hang out together, though she'd always assumed it'd been something like the buddy system the Autobots had used - and given the blue mech was bigger, he was simply there to protect the medic.

"Not really, no." she frowned. "Haven't seen that Lunkhead in a while, even when out with Bulk."

Mostly because she hadn't been able to do much with the Autobots as of late.

"You could always make something up! Say you caught him too, and unless Doc Knock starts talking, you'll cut him into bits!"

Then again, would he even care? The Decepticons only seemed to look out for themselves - and Knock Out seemed no different, given the attention he seemed to pay to his own frame and well-being.

[Optimus Prime]

"-When, exactly, were you going to let me in on that bit of information?"

"We have barely gotten back upon speaking terms."

Annoyed.

Even if he wanted to reveal this fact right away to Wheeljack, what was he meant to do? Blurt it out instantly when the flow of discussion was not at that point yet? They were speaking of the Patch situation, yes, though they were also covering the known variables, while the Decepticon prisoner hadn't given anything to them as of yet that could contribute to such endeavors. To be offended that he didn't rush to something not immediately relevant to the facts was irritating to Optimus, though he could perhaps try to understand the other mech's perspective. Having a captive was a large thing indeed, and could not be set aside as though it were a casual incident that may just be a fraction of importance.

Though it was what it was, and he did not expect all to think along the same path he did.

"If you feel rushed for disclosed information, MECH now has constructs capable of direct confrontation."

Did this wedge seamlessly into what they were talking about despite it being a topic of MECH? No. Though he wasn't going to be accused again of holding back details, cyan optics flicking across the expression of the other Cybertronian carefully, watching to see if he seemed offended about that piece of intel being 'withheld' as long as it had been already. Petty? Perhaps, but Optimus wasn't in the mood for another sideways accusation, and his patience as a whole was already thin enough.

"Jetfire has joined our ranks, as well as Hellion who has arrived today."

While he wasn’t sure if Wheeljack knew the femme or not personally, or if she had joined after he departed in protest to Ultra Magnus, it was worth bringing up on the chance it was a name he was aware of, given her status as a Wrecker.

"Sunstreaker, Unit 74, and Blades, who is a medic, have also arrived in your absence as well."

Blunt and direct, Optimus was slamming into the information with little regard to what angle it may be coming from.

"Sundance has obtained critical damage due to a conflict with Thundercracker, and is no longer fully functional."

It could be jarring to see what happened to the femme, her lower legs entirely gone, while her ability to see was also removed from play. While injuries were bound to occur, this one was a large problem that they were not in a place to address at this time. Blades could unfortunately only do so much, and he simply hoped that Ratchet could be restored eventually, given he has shown ghosted memories of who he once was. Which... speaking of...

"Ratchet has yet to recover, though shows signs of recognition."

A glimmer of hope in a sea of misery.

"Hot Rod has since returned from his temporary absence, though details on that are scarce."

With a new paint job which he didn't even bother to inquire as to why. Individuals were free to do as they wanted, as there was no uniform to be an Autobot soldier. So long as they did not wear the Decepticon brand? Then they technically didn't even need to wear an Autobot one.

He then glanced over at Miko as she addressed the last portions of Wheeljack's words after the informational drop, resigned frustration bleeding over him again at her saying they needed to start cutting Breakdown up into bits. It caused his jaw to tighten ever so slightly, wanting to correct her on such a statement and say how methods like that should be a last resort, if taken at all.

However, he focused back on the Wrecker instead.

"Should we capture him, then such measures can be explored."

Hollow words, as it depended entirely on even catching him to begin with, which given the fact he hadn’t been seen in some time, it was questionable if he was even on earth any longer. With the ability to utilize the Space Bridge, the Decepticons could rotate their forces to move them where was tactically best, cleaning up whatever straggling Autobot encampments remained, while keeping them pinned here on Earth.

Breakdown could have been relocated, so it did not matter how close he was emotionally to Knock Out when it couldn't be exploited with ease. Optimus didn't feel lying about holding him captive was viable, as it could come off as a convenient and transparent ploy to try to utilize such attachments with no power or evidence to back them up. While they were desperate, resorting to such things with Knock Out's personality type would be more grief than benefit, as he had shown no interest in the mech when Prowl had briefly brought him up.

"Fabricating his abduction is destined to backfire."

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack heard the ting of annoyance in the Prime's voice, but he didn't react to it. Instead he just stood there, looking at the taller mech again as he thought about what Miko had said. Breakdown was the one Bulkhead had mentioned before, so that designation stuck with him. What she had suggested hadn't been that bad of an idea, considering that the former Wrecker was more than happy to find an excuse to clobber a few noggins. 

Then there was the Prime drawing his attention again away from both Miko and his thoughts as he started to give him a sudden run down of information. Clearly the Commander had gotten his gears jerked by what he had said- from the other's perspective he could understand how it may have, especially with the response given- but that could be addressed later if he wanted to reevaluate it. Right now he was busy, taking in all that was being said, even if the information was a hash of everything all at once without any real pattern to it. He processed it as it was spoken none the less, putting it together himself based on relevance to one another. 

The thought of MECH having achieved the means to go toe to toe with them was troublesome indeed. They'd proven in the past to be able to taken them down, so any advancement in that would need to be taken heed. He'd have to ask for a further elaboration on what they had exactly, or at least as much of what was known, just so he'd be able to know what to look out for if he were to be out there on his own. Though it wouldn't be the first time, nor the last, that he'd have to go in to something blind to what was waiting on the other side. 

Ratchet showing signs of improvement was at least a good thing. Countered by the news that another had been reduced in functionality. With any luck, if they managed to get Ratchet back maybe that could be fixed.

The other designations outside of Jetfire didn't even get so much as a flicker of recognition from him, until he'd heard Thundercracker. He scowled slightly at that mention but didn't say or do anything else, not until the Commander had finally reached the end of the flood and came up for air to discuss what Miko had suggested. 

"The Commander has a point," Wheeljack said finally in agreement aloud, directed to both in present company. "The fact that he's the Decepticon CMO means he's at least got enough of a working processor to possibly call our bluff. So that'd leave us with sinking into the Undergrid with no way to climb out because we'd have nothing to show for it."

Wheeljack waved a servo outward, palm upward.

"Unless we make him aware that we have the means to do just that. If those two are always traveling together that bruiser might be out looking for him. So if he doesn't want to talk, that doesn't mean we can't tell him we'll just find his friend and see if he'd be a bit more chatty. See how he reacts, go from there."

Speaking of gauging reactions.

The former Wrecker watched the Prime, trying to do just that. He wasn't sure how the Commander would take the suggestion, but it was out there in the open for him to do with it as he wanted. He'd had previous experience with how the other tossed out information he'd gathered before so he'd only be able to wait and see how he would handle this one. Either way, he'd have to go with whatever he said if he wanted to stay in the 'good graces' of the Autobot Leader.

[Miko Nakadai]

Listening as Optimus explained what'd happened in Wheeljack's absence, Miko found herself nodding along as if in agreement, smiling at the mention of Unit 74 and Blades because she had been the one to find both of them and bring them back to Omega One!

That smile quickly faded as he spoke about Sundance. She was lucky indeed to have gotten away alive if she'd had a run-in with Thundercracker, as she knew Seekers were especially dangerous.

Then, the Prime glanced her way in response to what she'd said. She was expecting a straight up 'uh, no' - and while that kind of happened, it wasn't as direct as she thought it'd be. Perhaps her idea was a little out there, but hey- parts of it were probably good!

Like cutting Breakdown into little tiny bits if they managed to catch him.

Hearing Wheeljack agree with Optimus made her frown. She'd assumed he of all Bots would totally be up for that kind of thing, playing the Decepticons at their own game with a little bit of mental torture in making Knock Out think Breakdown was here and in danger, but if he thought it wouldn't work? Well, then it probably wouldn't.

Huffing a strand of hair from her face, she leaned forward onto the railing further.

"If he's so important, wouldn't they all be looking for him? Or maybe they think it's MECH and figure he isn't worth the trouble!"

The Decepticons didn't seem to look out for their own the way the Autobots did, though in saying that Starscream had made some attempt to help Breakdown when he had been taken by MECH – she'd gotten Bulkhead to tell her that story at least three times now – but maybe that'd been a one-off.

[Optimus Prime]

"If he's so important, wouldn't they all be looking for him?"

"Indeed, more than just Breakdown would seek someone of Knock Out's status."

However, this was questionable.

While Carbine's infiltration had backfired more than it assisted, that is not to say his efforts were completely in vain. Passing statements were not ignored, little glimmers of information muddled beneath a flippant discussion between two arrogant souls trying to mine intel from one another. The black and white mech had revealed more than he gained, though it was what it was, and nothing could be done to rectify this oversight. They could only take what they had learned and walk forward without looking back over their shoulder at what could have been or should have been, Knock Out's words echoing in the back of his mind.

"-As for who has undoubtedly replaced me, they are anything but secondhand."

Still questioning just where Megatron was, Optimus wondered why Starscream had made no mention of their CMO's absence, even when given an opportunity to do so on that one rainy night. It created an implication that he truly wasn’t worth anything as his replacement was more than capable of filling his place, with the added incentive of possibly being only a fraction of the grief Knock Out called his personality, and as such... would their soldiers even have their normal tasks interrupted with seeking a piece of discarded trash? This idea felt so alien to the Prime who saw value in all of his Autobots. Priceless. Irreplaceable. Each life was not just a pawn in the chessboard of the war that could be sacrificed for a perceived greater good. While such choices had been made before, it was never done with true intention, it simply becoming an unfortunate lesson to plague Orion's early days when the weight of their world was placed upon his inexperienced shoulders.

If only he knew then what he now knew.

"We mustn’t rely upon the acquisition of a hidden bargaining chip."

This world may be small compared to Cybertron, however, it was still large in its own way, meaning that locating Breakdown on a hope and dream was limited to none, to the point using it as a threat was frivolous at best. The acquisition of any Decepticon whether the intended target or not was a lottery chance, even more so as there was the likely reality that many of their soldiers would opt to cut the threat off of the roster of opponents rather than look for less lethal means to claim the soldier as their own. As much as he wanted to think the best, hoping they would pull their punch at the last moment, even he had his hands dirty with loss of life and would not be surprised if such choices were made in the heat of battle.

"We must focus upon working with what we have."

While they had the manpower to devote a small team to hunting the Decepticons, such a thing was already in play in a way with their quest to find the Nemesis. The Warship was more important to them in the larger picture, its contents holding priceless information that would dictate what their next actions would be, including if they were to continue their current residency in Omega One. Within the fallen vessel, wherever it had fallen, perhaps they would receive the added bonus of acquiring an additional captive to follow through on this proposed plan. Though, with their luck the claimed soul would be one Knock Out would be thrilled over being potentially injured.

There was too much going on.

They were spread too thin.

"Locating Patch or the Nemesis should be of greater priority."

[Wheeljack]

"If he's so important, wouldn't they all be looking for him? Or maybe they think it's MECH and figure he isn't worth the trouble!"

Either way was possible. Given what he had see from how they treat their rank and files he had his doubts that the faction as a whole would even really care. They more than likely considered him scrap metal at this point so if Breakdown was looking for him it was probably due to whatever driving force was behind their mutualism relationship.

The glaring factor was the whole finding the correct malfunctioning helical gear in a fully operational prison transport vessel. Granted, locating one or more Decepticons wasn't as difficult as one would think, at least to Wheeljack. He had been on enough missions where he had to do much of the same thing on a far greater scale than Earth and he'd devised some creative ways of getting their attention. Ones that the Prime probably wouldn't be too keen on so if he wanted to pursue that he'd either have to hope that Optimus wouldn't find out about, or get his permission. The former was far more likely. 

There'd be time for that somehow, someway, at some point.

At the present there were so many things going on that it could have been overwhelming for anyone. He could only imagine what was on Optimus's plate given the information that had been relayed. So much had happened in the brief time he'd been gone, like a floodgate had opened with no real sign of closing any time soon. One could pack a dam only so many times with hopes the patchwork would hold before a complete repair was in order. Right now with Knock Out's capture they only had a band-aid on a wound that needed stitches.

There were the objectives of finding Patch and the Nemesis which had been on the table before.  Wheeljack could branch keeping an eye out for Breakdown in the meantime, but those two matters were far more pressing. Now that didn't mean that in his brief back and forth Wheeljack couldn't pay the Decepticon CMO a little visit on his own to settle his own curiosity, which wouldn't cut into time that he could be doing something else. After all, he'd just arrived back so he'd need to give his ship a look over, probably make a few minor repairs and give her a refuel before he set out again.

Before the former Wrecker had a chance to bring it up, the Commander spoke again, interrupting him. But he seemed to say just what he had been thinking only a nanoklik before, so they were merely coming full circle. He'd wait and listen before speaking up again.

"Of course they're the first things on the list." It wasn't a sarcastic reply in the least, merely an agreeing statement with a tone that reflected that. The Nemesis would be priceless to them should he be able to locate it, but Wheeljack was well aware even without Optimus stating it previously that Patch being found was the first goal. Wheeljack could understand that, given that he would have put Bulkhead's safety above all else if it were him missing instead, so he'd find a way to juggle the two.

"Do you have any where the Nemesis may have gone down? I'm sure it would have been a big screen spectacle had it dropped down where the humans would have seen it." With that came the matter of how to get to it, should it not be somewhere the Jackhammer could go. 

[Miko Nakadai]

Tapping a finger to her lips in absent thought, Miko quietly made her way over to the small couch that sat atop the platform. She wouldn't sit on it - as then she would be facing the TV and not the two mech, though would move to kneel on it some, leaning forward so she could rest atop the headrest while she continued to listen to the conversation at hand.

She wanted to offer to go and talk to Knock Out herself - she may be tiny, but that was a good thing. Small, unassuming - unexpected? It made perfect sense! Maybe she could strike up a conversation and get him talking! Or, failing that, she could blast some Slash Monkey to the point he was so annoyed he would beg her to turn it off – in exchange for delicious Decepticon secrets, of course!

Then again, did that count as torture? It wouldn't be to her or anyone with actual decent taste in music – which she was sure Knock Out did not have – but to someone who didn't like metal? Eeeh… Probably. She'd hate to be stuck somewhere that blasted disgusting pop music, after all. Hell, she'd even do her homework if threatened with that.

It was probably safer than going in there and doing it the old-fashioned way, though knew it was probably too silly to bring up. Optimus would never allow her down there anyway, and she was sure Red Alert had the entire place rigged with a billion cameras so she couldn't even try.

Though maybe she'd try regardless. Just to see. What was the point in having a security system if it didn't even work.

Pushing these thoughts aside for now, Miko settled back into listening quietly. It wasn't often she got to sit in on serious conversations, and while this one had probably been unavoidable, she felt important – though for the moment had no more to add, finding herself simply nodding along regardless.

[Optimus Prime]

"Fowler's men have reported no sightings."

They had far more eyes skyward than his Autobots and Omega's scanners ever could.

"While nature reserves are abundant, I lean in favor of an ocean landing."

The Matrix of Leadership... it meant different things to different people, its translation varying from individual to individual, from a simple utilitarian tool no different from an advanced hard drive, all the way to some relic of the ages that was passed down from Primus himself, or any odd gray area in between. Whether artifact or not, what it did offer was information and a form of guidance, and that could not be argued. This said, it wasn't necessarily a one-to-one conversion... pulling chunks out from a grandiose database of intelligence well beyond Orion's years... so much as it was something more abstract.

It was difficult to discern, and even more problematic to try to explain, which had yet to be a true issue given the fact that Optimus never let himself get into a position where he was forced to reveal any of its secrets. No matter what it truly was, it whispered at times as a ghosted thought or intuition, a softer push in a particular direction for what reason had yet to be understood, and it could be argued that this was one of those moments. Where evidence was so very thin and so very minimal... yet he felt a great deal of confidence.

Putting faith behind elements he simply did not fully comprehend with minimal fear that he could be sending Wheeljack astray.

"Starscream declared it was no longer in an operational state, with cadence ill-fitting of complete destruction."

Optimus was not always the best when it came to speaking in a social environment and understanding their finer intricacies, clipping discussions off or not considering how rude he could sometimes appear when turning his back on elements others saw as fun... however he was observant, and he noted everything that was said with care on that destructive day.

"Should it be within the true depths of this world's ocean, I believe his phrasing would differ."

It could be a lie. Certainly, it could. Starscream had countless years of experience with such things, yet at the same time he had shown flares in the past where he was honest to a fault when speaking far too casually. The reality that the Nemesis had even been brought up as it had been was one of those moments, and he was banking on this slip of the tongue and a lack of sightings to turn a hunch into a perceived fact.

"I have instructed our aerials to scout the coastline and will supply you with their current findings."

Due to the fact Miko had taken a more passive observational role once more, Optimus did not cast her a sideways glance, more focused on Wheeljack to inform him what little he knew on the matter.

[Wheeljack]

"Makes sense. Fowler's crew might be able to move more freely around, but they can't scale the heights the Jackhammer can, and she hasn't had any sign of it cross the scanners. I'll take whatever information you can supply me with to narrow any possible search radius. Good to tackle that sooner, rather than later."

Wheeljack didn't have any doubts that they had been looking since finding out that it apparently had gone down somewhere, but who knows how long ago that may have happened. They may have lost precious time not being aware- not that they would have definitely known one way or another without the information that had been handed to them by.... Starscream, apparently, but that didn't change that fact.

"If it's not in complete disrepair, I doubt the Decepticons will leave it like that for long. That's their flagship, and without it operational they're absent that firepower. With it out of commission that means they're just as grounded as we are- fliers aside. Can't imagine Megatron is in favor of us playing on a level field."

Jackhammer aside as well.

There was also the moment of realization that... Miko was silent.

Never trust when Miko was silent, that was something Wheeljack had come to learn from Bulkhead as well as his own interactions with her. While Optimus may have not turned to check on her, Wheeljack did briefly from the side of his optics, just to ensure she was still where she was and hadn't gone off to hijack something to go look for the Nemesis herself. Or try to get to where Knock Out was currently being held- whichever she felt more motivated to do first. But she was there, so he once again looked to the Prime.

As much as Wheeljack hoped that the Decepticons would be following the wartime rules to not harm the medics, prisoner of war or not, he had his doubts they would. Just as he was sure that Knock Out probably wasn't having the best of times here either. If it were up to Wheeljack, he'd do whatever it took to get information, even with his own way of doing things aside. He could only hope the kid had enough in her to hold out until they could find her or come to some sort of terms of exchange.

"Do we have any current plans for MECH or are we just doing what we can to avoid them altogether for the time being? Just in case I engage them while out and about." 

Though he figured that Optimus was just as aware as he was that no matter what that protocol was, the former Wrecker would rather make short work of them and take out whatever little tinker toys they had at their disposal to set them back however he could.