(Untitled)

[doc_ratchet]

Ratchet glances up curiously when the lights in the Medbay seem to dim suddenly. Hmm. Either Metroplex has an undiagnosed power fluxuation problem, or... Or they may have a bit of an unseen visitor popping in again

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[attair_al_fada]

Many hours later, Starscream breezes back in, grinning happily. From the grin down to the jaunty bounce in his step, he's obviously in a very good mood.

"How are things going here? You get finished with Slingshot yet? Let's see, if you are, we've got Fireflight, Skydive and Slingshot done and waiting for head and core transplants, correct?"

[doc_ratchet]

Ratchet eyes Starscream warily. He's far too pleased with himself, and he's been gone far too long.

"Slingshot's done, yeah, and Air Raid's started," Ratchet replies slowly, still eying Starscream. "How many pieces did you break Red's CPU into this time? You're in too good a mood to have left him fully functional..."

[attair_al_fada]

"Oh, good. You want me to take over on Air Raid?" Starscream says, then the rest of Ratchet's words register. He looks slightly puzzled for a moment.

"Oh, that Red. Wound up doing some strategy planning with him and Frostbite. Things are likely to be hitting the rotors again," Starscream says, almost perversely gleeful. "I've got some of my guys on it, too. As for my mood..."

Starscream grins wickedly. "This time, I turned off my comm. Picked a different set of mountains, too. Some things, Sky and I just don't need the U.S. Air Force barging in on..."

[doc_ratchet]

Ratchet fixes Starscream with a bland look, firmly throttling down any rising jealousy - and he can't believe that he's getting jealous of Starscream, of all mechs - at their intimate interlude.

"Air Raid is well in hand. Have you gotten all the transfer sorted out yet? We'll be ready for that PDQ, and from what you said before, I'm thinking that this transfer won't be quite as simple as yours was," Ratchet replies, waving Starscream off.

"And, what kind of rotors hitting slag are we talking about here? Should I be expecting someone storming in here again?"

[attair_al_fada]

"I expect that may be tricky--it's why I revised the power distribution to make sure their heads could support a lasercore as well as primary cerebral processors. Even if their lasercores are ostensibly located somewhere else," Starscream adds drily. "I'm going to stick my nose into Jetstorm's cell and see if he's ready and who gets to be the first volunteer."

Starscream frowns, and flips to a heavily encrypted channel--very heavily encrypted. // Ratchet, not that Red has authorized me to release this information or anything, but Drath apparently made use of The Machine's original and primary function. And I thought I was just being offhand paranoid when I suggested that Red check to see if Spike was really Spike... //

[doc_ratchet]

To his credit, from the moment Starscream cued up the heavily encrypted channel, Ratchet had been expecting to be shocked. Expecting it, then, means that he is able to keep from reactin in any obvious fashion when what he really wanrs to do is stare incredulously at Starscream.

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that. Auspex should be here, too, I'm thinking. And I'll be honest, I'd be happier of Skyfire were here for the transfer as well," Ratchet adds, his tone carefully casual. A little extra "Serenity Now" is never a bad thing, and this transfer has all the potential to go very badly in about a couple million different ways.

// If Spike was really Spike? The slag? When did... You mean he was a copy the whole time? Red Alert must be having kittens. /

[midnightspook]

Before Starscream can answer that, another channel, encrypted in a whole Other manner, pops open to the Decepticon Air Commander.

// Starscream, all done at that Castle Destro place. Got something for you, boss. Couple somethings, actually. //

Blackstar sounds very smug, and rather pleased with himself.

[attair_al_fada]

Starscream's head tilts slightly, in that 'listening' attitude of someone receiving a comm. He smirks.

//Excellent! I don't suppose any of those things were Spike, were they? Or any sign of him?//

The red and blue Seeker looked at Ratchet oddly for a moment. // Local idiom, I hope? If it means, 'Red is so far over enemy territory with an empty fuel tank that he's willing to call in me to consult and advise', yes, he is. Frostbite as well. Might want to hit her up for the details--too much of it is human-oriented intell. Not my area, unless you're talking about Cobra's senior hierarchy. //

[midnightspook]

// Unfortunately, no. Not there. No guarantee there's no mention of him on the computers and security logs I snagged, but no obvious sign of him there. That Dr. Mindbender, guy, however, is a different story. Not sure how long he'll be sticking around there, since I had to get just a bit flashy with the destroying of surveillance footage so that no one could go back and see stuff just vanishing into thin air... but I just left there and he was slagging near stasis locked, he was recharging so deep. //

[doc_ratchet]

x// Local idiom, // Ratchet agrees, noting the 'listening' pose with a flicker of curiosity. // And that's just about the gist of it, too. I'll talk to Frostbite. You talk to Jetstorm. //

And Ratchet is surprised. Starscream is no fool; he, of anyone, would be able to tell if he was being humored and led along. If Red Alert and Frostbite are actually working with Starscream...

Things are quite serious, indeed.

[attair_al_fada]

Starscream nods. // I'll do that. //

//Blackstar, well done! I'm going to be heavily involved with Jetstorm here for a while--it's a critical point in the rebuild and I can't just run off, not even to blow Castle Destro and Dr. Mindbender to dripping slag! Meet me in Skyfire's quarters in about eight hours for debriefing on the stuff you're not sharing with Frostbite? As for what you are sharing with Frostbite, I'll give her a head's up that you finished your recon and didn't find Spike there. Starscream opens another encrypted channel, this one to Frostbite. // Frostbite... Blackstar completed his reconnaissance of Castle Destro. Negative on Spike; he didn't find your missing Ambassador

[attair_al_fada]

(( Starscream wanders off to here ))

[midnightspook]

// Got it. Eight hours. I'll go report in. //

Now all he has to do is report in to Frostbite.

[doc_ratchet]

"She's been around," Ratchet observes as Starscream wanders off to talk to Jetstorm. "I'll track her down."

Of course, that depends entirely on if the priestess happens to be here, rather than in the Nexus, or back at her sanctuary. If she doesn't answer a comm call, Ratchet's going to have to send one of the twins out looking. Hopefully, with as close as the transfer has been looming, she isn't that far.

// Auspex, your presence would be appreciated in the Medbay. Looks like we're getting ready to start on the transfers Real Soon Now. //

[primus_seeress]

*Auspex's reply is immediate. Her voice conveys supressed excitement* //Ah, good! I'll be there right away. Thank you, Ratchet.//

*And, sure enough, she is there in only a few minutes, having extricated herself from a conversation with a random mech (actually, vice versa, and she knows it, but it comes with the job sometimes...). Her optics are very bright, and she is almost fidgety, compared to her usual quiet demeanor. She nods in greeting, somewhat less placidly than normal.*

[doc_ratchet]

"Good affternoon, Auspex. Starscream's off grilling Jetstorm," Ratchet greets her, nodding towards Jetstorm's room. It ceased being a "cell" in Ratchet's CPU some time ago, in favor of just being the chaos-jet's "room".

"Not sure if you want to go listen in on that. Probably make more sense to you than me, anyway."