Chaos Panic and Disorder

Log Title: Chaos Panic and Disorder

Characters:  Swerve, Ratchet, Spike, Brainstorm, Starlock, First Aid, Chromia

Date: September 8, 2019

TP: None

Location: Iacon Medical

Suummary: A solution to Spike and Cerebros's problem is discussed. Brainstorm has a volatile project. And Starlock is introduced to Autobots both old and new

Iacon Medical

'''Swerve's smile falters then returns, brighter and bolder than ever. "You're new t'me!" he says. "It counts, I'm callin' it a W. Uh, in the 'W is for win' not 'W is for tungsten' -- well, it's tungsten on Earth. They're a confusing bunch when it comes to chemistry. Great pop culture, weiird designattions for comon eements."'''

'''Ratchet scowls. "Now, you calm down as well. I'm sure they're more we can do than that. I'll just tell Wheeljack that Brainstorm said it couldn't be done and then we'll see what can and cannot happen." He carefully offers Spike a half-filled decanter of Scotch, ignoring what he spilled for now. As First Aid offers to help, Ratchet gestures to the young doctor. "See? The finest minds on Cybertron are ready to help." He shakes his head at Starlock's puns, and nods in silent greeting to Chromia.'''

'''Spike 's eyes widen. Wow, Ratchet DOES have a drinking problem. "Ratchet... that's for wine..." He shakes his head and gives a bemused grin and goes to his overnight bag. It's not elegant, but he removes the top of his thermos and gently pours two fingers of scotch into it. He looks over at First Aid and says "Cerebros and myself's ordeal is more of an annoyance, it looks like some Autobots in here need help in a more immediate fashion." He raises his thermos of scotch to Ratchet. "Cheers...and thanks for bringin' this up to Cyb'tron from Earth.'''

'''Shuffling into the med center is the afforementioned Brainstorm, he's a bit slumped over, and obviously hasn't had much in the way of rest. As he enters, the entire room is filled with applause, as if coming from a studio audience. He ignores pretty much the entire room as he mutters to himself, and pulls out a clicker. He clicks it against his side, and the applause shuts off. "...stupid idea anyway.." He hits up a work station, sniffs something that was left out, maybe by him, or maybe by anyone else. He shrugs, and throws it up against his faceplate, before he starts up something or other.'''

'''Spike cranes his neck to see who has just come in. Brainstorm. He narrows his eyes on his intended target, then goes back to regarding Ratchet.'''

'''Starlock chuckles at Swerve. "Well then, lemme' introduce myself, I'm Starlock of Harmonex, I'm a Autobot Sergeant, Doctor, and combat medic.. Or least what everyone calls me, I got that from being on the field so much in the early days." She'd nod, as she waited for Aid to finish.'''

'''"Just lemme know what you need Aid, I'll quickly get it." She'd nod, completely okay for Aid to take over for her.. She'd look around though, completely amazed by how much bustier things are... Was almost overwhelming, familiar yet.. She'd frown again and remained quite.'''

'''Swerve considers. "Ok, so I guess it kinda makes sense that tungsten's abbreviated with a W 'cause it's also called Wolfram -- which really sounds more like a Watcher on Buffy than a metal but, still, tungsten's kinda awesome. S'got great corrosion resistance, for one thing. Makes some great wire. Awesome tensile strength, and, as you guys no dobut know, tungsten disulfide makes an excellent dry lubricant." He pauses, then his grin widens with the mischief of an inveterate referencer. "And, I'm 40 percent tungsten!"'''

'''First Aid nods "You know so much about this sort of thing, Serve. I'd lvoe to learn sometime." He looks to Starlock "How much do you know about humans?" he asks.'''

'''Spike looks over with curiosity at Starlock, wondering about the answer himself. He's usually good about keeping tabs on all Autobots who've been to Earth, but he's not quite sure if Starlock has been to Earth.'''

'''Brainstorm throws down something, and the applause starts back up. He grunts and smashes the clicker, then fumbles for something else. When he drops it, a laboratory station appears before him in a puff of logic. He just sort of rolls a big empty syringe off the table, exhales then starts searching through its drawers. On drawer three, he finds a flask. He shakes it, then takes a heavy pull of it, trickles of engex running down his faceplate. He leans against the station, and after a few moments, manages to sigh a little more relaxed. ".....there....we go...."'''

Chromia turns her head and follows Brainstorm's arrival before she simply shakes her head and turns back to Ratchet, moving over closer to him and giving Spike a nod before leaning against the wall and holding out a datapad to the Medic, "I just got this message delivered a short time ago. Considering it includes you I figured it would be best to show it to you as well."

Spike gives a poilte nod and grin to Chromia.

'''Spike looks around. Ratchet...Brainstorm... he doesn't know Starlock, but he's starting to consider as an Autobot medic doing a published study on instances of spirit abuse in the medical field, and comparing it to human occurances amongst the medical field.'''

'''Ratchet squints at Spike's drink. "There's different containers for different drinks on Earth? Primus, no wonder you guys are at constant war." He scowls. "Fine. I'll make sure Hubcap brings the proper glassware next time I put in an order for human engex. Or I'll ask Encore - he probably knows about that sort of thing." Grouchy or not, Ratchet raises a drink to Spike before he downs his. That's sure to make the shaking stop, right?'''

'''Ratchet suddenly stands up behind his desk and calls out, "Hey, Brainstorm! If you can get a hold of any of that rancorite, have Swerve look at it! 'Might have some insights." He sits back down with a frown, taking the datapad from Chromia and giving it a brief initial glance. Quickly he stops, however, and if he wasn't already white, he'd turn so. His optics widen and his borrowed hands start to shake again. He glances at Chromia in alarm. "Has Ironhide seen this?" he asks tensely.'''

Chromia shakes her head, "No. I have had him dealing with some issues that popped up and have not had a chance to speak to him directly.. don't wish to spread this over the comms yet."

'''Starlock perked up and looked at Aid. "Enough to make jokes, get some references.....Curses." she'd say sheepishly with a grin. "Basically enough to get by." She'd nod. "..Plus, you know.. The Internet and memes are a thing." She'd nod sagely, spinning her wrist, as she knelt down and looked over Swerves leg after First aid scan's were complete, working deftly with her hands... Notably her left;'''

'''Swerve perks up as First Aid mentions humans, one of his favorite subjects. "Oh! You gotta go to earth, Starlock!" he says. 'It's an amazin' place, just absolutely amazing! The humans, Starlock, oh my Primus, the humans! Starlock, the humans, oh my Primus, the humans, oh my Primus, Starlock!"'''

It's at that point that Swerve's internal processor, in a desperate attempt to spare the others from Swerve's reference-heavy humor, shorts out in hopes that Swerve will Shut The Hell Up And Let The Nice Medics Fix Him, Already.

'''Spike shakes his head and grins at Swerve. This stuff never gets old to the human.'''

'''Brainstorm has slouched down the side of his workstation to the point where his shoulders have just about rested on the table's edge. He pulls himself up a bit, "Rancorite? To the metallurgist?" He scoffs, then gets to his feet more proper. He begins keying in something onto his work station, and logs in. There's immediately a warning claxon from his holoscreen that declares 'TEN MINUTES TILL WARP BREACH!' He swipes it off screen, and finishes his remark, "Might as well. Damn stuff is impossible to recreate anyway." He slams down the his flask, adding a bit of punctuation to his words, "damn it. The universe is paying too close attention to make more of any of those sapiometals." He continues, his mood seeming to improve, "Do you know how hard it is to do the ole 'Calisian Reacharound' on the fabric of the..." EIGHT MINUTES TILL W.. He swipes the screen aside again, " Ugh. fine. Rancorite. Who do we know who is always pissed? Maybe I can distill some from him. I don't know, I'm throwing science at the wall, and seeing what sticks."'''

'''First Aid shakes his head. "Well what I was looking for was more Earth medicin...oh, Primus." he heads over to check on Swerve, backing far, far away from Brainstorm and his mad experiments.'''

'''Spike 's eyes widen with concern as he hears Brainstorm go off on a tear/terror? He gestures to Brainstorm with his neck and mumbles to Ratchet "And He's the one you're entrusting Cerebros', Fort Max, and my brain with?"'''

'''"Ahh, that... Something I could look into, know, I'm always willing to learn new things, Aid." She'd smile as she moved to clean her hands after doing Swerves repairs, only to hear him... Glitching? She'd then look to Brainstorm and raised a ridge and pointed over.'''

'''"Uhhh..Whats he doing?" She'd ask, clearly unaware of what was likely about to happen.'''

R'''atchet nods to Chromia, powering down his optics a moment to get himself together. He powers them up and looks over at Brainstorm's tirade, shaking off some of whatever stuck him with obvious fear. "If things don't calm down in here, you'll be able to harvest from rancorite from me," he grumbles quietly. He turns his attention back to Spike and says loudly enough for Starlock to hear, "Brainstorm's a genius. He's just... special. Don't worry - I'll get everyone in on this before we're though if I have to," he promises.'''

'''Spike gives an appreciative nod to Ratchet. "Thanks, Ratch."'''

'''Spike gulps, hoping to at least contribute something positive to the med bay and not be a resource sponge. "The good news is that Cerebros and I were linked up enough to keep Fort Max operating for ten whole minutes yesterday! I think we're ready to help with Omega Supreme when he gets...dosed by Scales." He adds "I think this is an awesome mission for Cerebros, it'll show that Fort Max really isn't an instrument of destruction, he's here for protection."'''

'''Brainstorm shakes his head and sighs. Spike's report draws his attention, and his mood changes. Brainstorm actually approaches, as a FIVE MINUTE COUNTDOWN appears on his workstation. The klaxons are going off constantly by this point. He starts talking louder over the noises, "Oh yeah? Its starting to work already?" He puts his hands on his knees and squats a bit to look at Spike, " They got the spigot turned on already?" Of course, if this 'spigot' of his /was/ operational, that'd be First Aid's work, so Brainstorm turns his gaze to First Aid, "Hey hey...you working on the " He raises a hand to stage whisper away from Ratchet, " 'you-know-whats' yet?" He shoots First Aid a quick fingergun.'''

First Aid blinks "Um Im not entirely sure what... maybe the neural pathways? Thats what Im trying to work out here. Make sure everything is okay and maybe even reversible."

'''Spike looks at Ratchet and gives a smart aft grin. "Don't worry though, dad said if you can't come up with a solution, he's sure he can."'''

'''Chromia looks over towards Brainstorm before focusing on Ratchet, "Deal with that, Ratchet.. this is a medbay, not a science or comedy show." She takes back her datapad and flicks thrugh a few more things before she looks to Ratchet agian, "With this and what has happened before.. I am assigning you some escorts as well as keeping the guards outside the medcenter's entry at least for now."'''

Klaxons are still going off from Brainstorm's table.

'''"What type of special we talking, there about.. three types i know of." she'd call back with a huff... She'd then raise a ridge at Brainstorm and then First Aid, and then the workstation and just sighed, and moved to take a seat nearby, her finials twitching upward as she listened to the chatter, trying to take in what all was going on... One of /those/ days it seemed.. She couldn't help but chuckle.'''

'''Wait.. Why did Ratchet need guards, that got her attention as she looked over, lifting her chin from her hand.'''

'''"Don't mention it," Ratchet replies to Spike. "Anything to quit your kvetching," he jokes(?). At Spike's offer, however, he looks back up at his young mechanic in pleasant surprise. "Well, that would be helpful, indeed!" he says, impressed. "If you can pull that off, well - that'll save us a lot of trouble." He glances at Brainstorm and scowls. "Just try not to kill us all this time, OK? I'm not buyin' that 'I just saved you in an alternate timeline' slag, either! Just do your damned job!" Ratchet turns back to Chromia. "Do you think you could help with the Fort Max thing? It's going to be quite the thing," he understates. He turns back to Spike. "That's not going to work on me. It's what I'm going to use on Wheeljack, remember?'''

'''Ratchet then sighs in frustration. "I'm DEALING with it, Chromia!" he barks. "And I don't need any more Primus-damned security! This place is a madhouse enough already." Raising his voice, he yells, "Primus, Brainstorm! Deal with your workstation already!" His optics widen as he vibrates with anger until spotting Starlock looking at him. "Uh, sorry," he apologizes, anger deflated. "Uh, welcome back to Iacon." He drops heavily into his chair.'''

'''Chromia just stares at Ratchet with one of her better Prime-like looks, "Deal with it, Ratchet. You already suffered once recently when we were in the middle of a major crisis. I will no risk you suffering like that again, or /worse/ considering what she did last time." She.. smiles.. a bit before she adds in, "Ironhide is gaining a pair as well."'''

'''Spike tenses his neck. "Easy, Ratchet...." He nods. "Chill...take a breath..."'''

'''Brainstorm makes a dismissive wave, "s'fine." SEVENTY SECONDS TILL WARP BREECH...SIXTY-FIVE SECONDS TILL WARP BREECH... "Right right, neural pathways. Its like the picture I showed you guys. We connect all your heads together with something with a little more speed than *snort* bimodal collective consciousness, and all that scrap Alpha Sigma was throwing your way, gets poured out...at least at a faster pace than before." He looks from First Aid to Spike and back, "Remember? I drew a holopic and everything?" Without any immediate praise, Brainstorm's ID-only nature groans, "You guys are killin me here." THIRTY SECONDS TILL WARP BREECH'''

'''Starlock frowns as the conversation continues, her ridges knitting, she'd push herself up and moved to give Ratchet a proper salute, and nod in greeting. "Glad to be back sir, hopefully can continue to work under you." She'd smile, before it shifted to a frown again.'''

'''"...What is... She talking about?" She'd ask, pointing lightly to Chromia, before looking back to Ratchet, someone she had looked up to in the early years, noticing the discolored paint and metal. "Are..you okay?" She'd ask, her formalness dropping as she tilts her helm, ridges knitting as she looked him over with concern.'''

Her look settled into a flat one as she heard the work station, looked back, and then to Ratchet, and pointed to one of her dual pistols on her belt, giving Ratchet a raised ridge, asking if she needed to do something.

'''"I am chill!" Ratchet yells at Spike... before realizing what he's just done. His scowl takes an apologetic tinge. He turns to Starlock. "I'm sorry about all this. You've caught us after a tense set of orbital cycles. And," he glances up at Chromia, "the fun never ends." He looks at his hands. They're black, like Ironhide's, rather than Ratchet's usual red ones. "I'm not sure how much I can help mechanically," he says to First Aid without looking up. "But I can look things over if you'd like a sane person's opinion." Turning back to Starlock, he explains, "We're getting threats again, and it looks like they're from the same person who took my hands. My real hands."'''

'''Ratchet balanced his fear vs. having his lap crawling with security. =D"'''

'''Spike nods calmly at Brainstorm. "Yes...I remember you told me...it's just..." He breathes out. "Look, I'm not Carly. This 'solution' of yours...I'm just not ENTIRELY grasping it. I KNOW you're coming up with a device to wear, but again...I'm a human. You might have to dumb it down a tad. It sounds like I'll have to wear something on my head whenever I don't want Cerebros hearing my thoughts. Like...Magneto or something." He shrugs "I'm sorry. I'm mortal. I bow to your intellectual superiority."'''

First Aid nods "The cranial device. Well it wouldnt be intrusive but that is a solution...at least you could take it off at the end of the day. I mean I'v eheard of these things before..."

'''Of course by now, the sirens going off are nearly overpowering any casual conversation in the room. TEN SECONDS TILL WARP BREECH... Brainstorm has to yell to talk to Spike, "NO. NO, THATS NOT WH...PRIMUS DAMN IT!" THREE SECONDS, TWO SECONDS. Brainstorm aims a clicker at the console, and abruptly all the alarms stop. RECALIBRATION FINISHED. SITUATION GREEN. He shakes his head at Spike, "No no no. You don't wear something on your head to STOP them from hearing you. You've got it reversed. Cerebros and Fort Max both need the rest of the sapience code..." He raises a finger to his own head, " In /your/ head. We hook you three up so it speeds up the transfer, and eventually /leaves/ your head. But remember, you've got the squishy brain, not the rewritable brain, so if we do it too fast, its bound to cause injury. So when you guys start hooking up, just like, hang around, watch some soccer, talk to them. It can be casual stuff, just anything that opens you three up to each other. It'll move the process along. Remember what I said earlier, you'll always have some sort of kinship with those two I figure, but when its all done, you'll not have any code stuck in your head."'''

'''Spike nods "Ok! Ok! I get it! (mostly)." He sighs "Thank you for dumbing it down."'''

'''Chromia simply watches Ratchet, her arms crossing again in thought at his reactions and decides to hit below the belt to drive her point home, "Your important to our efforts, Ratchet, so for now Scales remains in charge of the Med Center while your dealing with keeping things organized.." She pause and smiles a bit, "I could see if Grimlock will lend me a pair of his Dinobots as your escort if you prefer, Ratchet."'''

'''Spike arches a brow. "That's an idea..."'''

'''"Threats?" Starlock questioned and looked to Ratchet's hands, lips pressing into a thin line. "What..Happened?" She asks, clearly not aware of what was going on. "I'm.. not really up to speed.. I just got back Saw what was going on at Harmonex then.. came here." She would vent. "No one's told me really anything.. or Had the chance to." She'd shrug, and frowns at Chromia, and lets out a vent as she keeps listening.'''

'''So Brainstorm, Aid and this Human fellow are working on some sorta transfer thingy, Ratchet's been attacked.. Their getting threats, Harmonex's crystals are growing again and Megatron wants them... Looks like she really did return at a busy time.'''

Spike looks at Brainstorm and says thoughtfully "You remind me of someone... I can't put my finger on it. It's not an Autobot. But it's not a human, I mean, it is, but someone I don't know organically. Maybe it was something Daniel was raving about..."

'''Ratchet narrows his optics and directs a dark look at Chromia. "No. Dinobots," he says firmly. Giving in at last, however, he sighs. "OK. Fine. Who were you thinking? Firestar and Arcee? Because if you assign Flareup, it won't be the Huntress I have to worry about."'''

'''Ratchet turns back to Starlock. "A while back we had someone stalking areas of Iacon. Wound up really hurting Ironhide. Referred to as the Huntress. Then I got attacked here in my own lab by Nightbird. Similar wounds to Ironhide, from what I can tell from the scans. I'm wondering - I'm hoping - they're the same assassin. Because if there are really two of them, we're screwed." He looks up at Chromia. "No matter how many guards you post," he scowls'''

'''First Aid relaxes when the sirens stop going off. "That was close...Brainstorm you gotta keep a better watch on that." He tenses again at the mention of all the going ons "Yeah, its a really busy time. Hopefully ibe if theses things will calm down soon. At least the nucleosis is cleared up right?" he says. "The person who took your hands is at it again? She's a real menace."'''

'''Brainstorm dismisses Spike's thoughts, "Yeah well, They only know half the story then. Tell ya what." He produces a datachip from his side, "When you get the big guy active...just. Just give him this. That's all the payment I need." He starts to hand it off to Spike, then pauses, and shoots him another fingergun, "yeaaah, just hand this off to him." "S'all good, First Aid. We haven't all died yet. That you know of." There's a knowing wink to the Protectobot. Brainstorm stands back up, "Alreeet, I'm out." He snaps his fingers and makes a whistling noise as he points to the exit. His worktable folds up into a tiny ball, and starts to roll after him.'''

Chromia shakes her head, that semi-evil smile on her face she uses when someone is pushing their luck with her just a bit too much, her focus remaining on Ratchet, "I will have to ask Springer who he is picking."

'''Spike frowns and puffs his chest up at Ratchet reflexively. "C'mon, it's going to take a helluva lot more than two assassains to stop the Autobots!"'''

'''Starlock frowns, aaand assassins? Okay, lovely, she thought Ravage was the only one she needed to deal with, all made her rub at where the old wounds here on her back and vented. "So a sneaker.." She'd muse in thought. Glancing over to Aid, and raising a ridge at Brainstorm, being looking back to Ratchet in thought.'''

'''She'd cross her arms and let out a vent. "...Well.. Know I'm willing to kick someone in the face, or go as far as necessary to figure something out." She'd smile tiredly and chuckle at Spike. "We'll figure it out..." She'd say a bit hopeful.'''

'''Spike extends a hand for the chip. "Thanks...I owe you, Brainstorm...look me up if you need a tune-up."'''

'''Spike looks at Starlock and grins, extending his hand up to Starlock. "Thanks...I don't think I've had the pleasure - I'm Spike. It's nice to meet you."'''

'''Ratchet looks up at First Aid. "Well, it may or may not be the same assassin. I'm just hoping." He glances at the datapad. "In any case, they're now targeting Rattrap and me... if there are two of them after me, well - let's just hope Inferno likes paperwork, because there's going to be a job opening." He glances at Starlock and smiles, ignoring Brainstorm's theatrics. "Thanks, Starlock. It's good to know you have my back." He quickly glances at First Aid. "Although not everyone has to be a fighter to contribute," he continues quickly.'''

Chromia leans back a bit against the wall and listens to the flow of conversation for now.

'''Starlock gives a soft smile. "When have a never not, had my teaches back?" She'd nod. She looked back to Spike and the small mini-bot actually has to kneel down and offered out a finger.'''

'''"Pleasure.. Ah.. Careful, my fingers are taloned with uh.. what you humans call, borts, industrial diamonds, I had them installed long ago when I was in school to use them to do very dexterous and detailed medical work." She'd explain, realizing how that could of ended badly.'''

Ratchet scowls and rolls his chair back to take a call.

'''Spike nods and CAREFULLY takes the finger. "Thanks..." He smirks "It's always cool to meet another medic."'''

'''Starlock smiles, her finials twitching up ward and gives a soft chuckle. "Not a forged one, but I cope, and being small, even for a mini-bot, has its advantages." She'd smile, and glanced back to Chromia. "I also don't think I caught your name?" She'd say, nodding to the taller Femme, only to realize she was gone, and frowned.'''

"...Damn, that cleared out quickly."

Spike says reflexively "Chromia...She got a lot on her plate."

'''"I can tell.. Alchemist almighty.." She'd vent. "...Seems I really have missed a lot." She'd sigh, and ran her hand over her helm.'''

'''She'd chuckle. "Uuuhg.. Is it wrong to feel stressed out already?" She'd chuckle, looking to Spike, Ratchet, then Aid. "....I thought what I found out from Soundwave was bad enough." She'd sigh.'''

'''Spike frowns. "What did you find out from Soundwave?"'''

'''Starlock would remain silent for a moment, glancing to Ratchet, and then to Spike. "...Mmmm.. Harmonex's crystals starting to regrow... Megatron wanting it taken for the decepticons..." She'd frown, glancing down at the floor somberly. "And if any fighting happens near those crystals, they won't survive... Curse tries to feed me the bullslag that they'd be safe under decepticon rule." She'd vent frustrated.'''

'''"...Pretty much pointed out that a load of crap, and that he's being blind." she'd grumble. "....Told me to look for Imager and Knightmare for a solution to maybe protecting them but.. I don't know.... Seems.. to just pale in comparison to all this."'''

'''Ratchet returns to the conversation, grumbling, "...can't believe who told Slag he could do repairs. I'd blame Dust Devil but he's Stormfront now." He looks from Starlock to Spike. "So, what'd I miss?" Hearing about the situation in Harmonex, he shakes his head violently. "That place has been nothing but trouble since the rebirth of Cybertron," he scowls. "Bots and Cons, living together in peace? I knew it wouldn't last."'''

'''Spike listens intensely. He breathes out. "Yeah...I was kind of hoping, but it seems like so long as Megatron is leading the Decepticons, any peace is out of the question."'''

'''"Yeeep." She'd say simply. "He'll never give peace a chance at this point, I also told Soundwave that, sure Megatron at /one point/ was different but he's living in the past, not the present." She'd vent. "Turned into the the exact thing he was fighting against." She'd grumble.'''

'''"Sorry, went on a tangent, been doing that a lot more lately." She'd smile, getting herself back up, brushing herself off.'''

Spike says, "No worries.

'''" He looks at Starlock "So...where were you before you came here? Like, recently?""'''

'''Ratchet scoffs grumpily. "I don't get this historical revisionism. Megatron was never the revolutionary hero the Decepticon media makes him out to be. He was always a power-mad brute. Fancy words about planetary stagnation and the evils of the Autobot Council of Elders are just a cover for what he's always wanted - universal domination. He preaches peace through tyranny, but to him, everything is fodder." He continues to grumble even after the conversation moves on.'''

'''"Space, I've been doing medical work off planet for a while now." She'd tap on her chassis. "Having a flying alt-mode is /handy/ let alone one capable navigating space once someone like Sky Lynx, gets me up there." She'd explain.'''

'''She'd then look to Ratchet and giving a simple nod. "..So uh.. anything I should know, before I go through reports on the boards, and probably subsequently have a spark attack from all the insanity going on?" She'd joke.'''

'''First Aid shrugs "Soundwave is a known liar, so be careful about that one." he says.'''

'''"Well," Ratchet says, ticking things off on his fingers. "Inferno is my current second in command, so if I'm not available, or you need something not strictly medical - he can back me up. Scales is the director of this facility, if you need anything in Iacon. We have a secondary medical unit just outside Iacon, called the Sparkplug Center - named after this one's dad," he says, indicating Spike. "One of the finest medical minds I've ever encountered, and in a human no less."'''

'''Ratchet gets another radio message and his scowl descends to near-epic proportions. "OK," he says to Starlock. "I'm going to have to deal with this. Slag is trying to do surgery on Tailgate with his sword... Primus, the things these kids get into. I'll be back." He stands and gives Starlock a forced smile. "Welcome back to the madhouse," he says with a sigh. "I'd say it gets better, but I'd be a liar." Shaking his head, Ratchet heads out.'''

'''Starlock nodded as Ratchet explained, okay, nothing to bad. She'd think a moment. "Is...the barracks still around? and allowing units to stay there?" She'd ask finelly. "I've yet to find lodging since returning." She'd nod, also ackwolaging First aid's words.'''

First Aid nods "Oh, yes. We still have barracks. If you like I can show you around the base. Its pretty big. Might get a little lost."

'''Starlock would smile at First aid. "I'd like that." She'd say softly, and came up beside him. "Could tell me how we've you've been doing since I left." She'd say.'''