Here, I wrote some stuff.
The ship shuddered beneath and around the techs as they scrambled to stay at their stations, to keep a hold on the pittance of a course that they had been ordered to stay on. This suicidal, last ditch plan was all they had left. The planet was compatible with their needs, and all they had to do was get there and they would never interfere with the Maximal’s plans.
If only the Maximals would let them.
They just had to keep alive, release the pods holding everyone but the essential crew, and pilot the ship down in a controlled crash. That was all they had to hope for, that was all they could hope for. Head technician Scorponok glanced around at his crew, most of which hadn’t even techs before they launched, but they had tried their best, they had learned to keep up, and then bellowed out an order for them all to get to the pods, he would be able to handle it from here.
“But, sir-” one of the true techs tried to argue back, her green optics dimmed in dismay.
“That’s an order, Harlequin. There’s not much to do, just keep the engine from exploding on us.” He shot a rare grin at the techs, in a lame attempt to lighten the mood, one that fell even flatter when the ship shuddered under another barrage of missiles.
From the back of the room, another voice rose about the sudden din of murmurs, “Everyone out! You heard the mech, he has everything under control!” Silverbolt, third in command of the ship.
No one argued. Not that they didn’t want to argue, more than a few thought that the head technician needed more help, but they knew it was pointless. As one, the technicians filed out, leaving the engine room clear. It took all of Scorponok’s strength to let them leave, but he just watched them go, “thanks.”
“Not a problem. I’ll let Megatron know engineering is clear. You’re one of the last sections to empty out.” Silverbolt had already gotten to Scorponok’s station, frowning in worry, but trying to keep his tone light, even as another shudder when through the ship as he finished speaking. “I’ll let you get back to your work.” With that, he strode off, and Scorponok went back to trying to keep things under control by himself. Only a few more minutes, then they’d be ready to launch the pods...
“He used to be brilliant, you know.” Rattrap didn’t startle, as Blackarachnia had probably known that he wouldn’t. The fact that he was so comfortable here that he almost hadn’t caught her skittering across the ceiling to his walkway was something that he would have to be disturbed at, later. For now, he had to deal with her sudden comment.
“Who, him?” He waved his mug in the direction he had been looking at, where the two arachnids were working below him in the engine room. Or, rather, the scorpion was working. The spider... He would say that he didn’t now why the spider, in all his peacefulness, disturbed him, but he knew exactly why. For all that the mech was, by all appearances, a sparked mech, he acted like he had barely more intelligence than a drone, which was, he suspected, why Scorponok had been given the role of caretaker to him. The head technician was a master to five drones that Rattrap had seen, and he was sure there were others he had missed.
He was broken out of his thoughts as the femme standing beside him spoke. “He was the assistant to a high level scientist working for the government. He’d been working on his own experiments in the back of a storage room, looking for ways to speed healing time, things like that.” She fell silent, watching the other spider as he sat on the floor, leaning against a table leg and played with what looked like a tool. “The scientist found out. He was, of course, thrown out of the building, but not before the scientist had done this to him.” The vehemence in her voice was almost startling, and Rattrap glanced over at her, not quite prepared for the expression of disgust and what looked like a hint of fear on her faceplate.
They fell silent for a moment or two longer, Rattrap watching the two arachnids below them before draining his mug and walking away, leaving the she-spider staring out at the tech and the dronemech.
If only the Maximals would let them.
They just had to keep alive, release the pods holding everyone but the essential crew, and pilot the ship down in a controlled crash. That was all they had to hope for, that was all they could hope for. Head technician Scorponok glanced around at his crew, most of which hadn’t even techs before they launched, but they had tried their best, they had learned to keep up, and then bellowed out an order for them all to get to the pods, he would be able to handle it from here.
“But, sir-” one of the true techs tried to argue back, her green optics dimmed in dismay.
“That’s an order, Harlequin. There’s not much to do, just keep the engine from exploding on us.” He shot a rare grin at the techs, in a lame attempt to lighten the mood, one that fell even flatter when the ship shuddered under another barrage of missiles.
From the back of the room, another voice rose about the sudden din of murmurs, “Everyone out! You heard the mech, he has everything under control!” Silverbolt, third in command of the ship.
No one argued. Not that they didn’t want to argue, more than a few thought that the head technician needed more help, but they knew it was pointless. As one, the technicians filed out, leaving the engine room clear. It took all of Scorponok’s strength to let them leave, but he just watched them go, “thanks.”
“Not a problem. I’ll let Megatron know engineering is clear. You’re one of the last sections to empty out.” Silverbolt had already gotten to Scorponok’s station, frowning in worry, but trying to keep his tone light, even as another shudder when through the ship as he finished speaking. “I’ll let you get back to your work.” With that, he strode off, and Scorponok went back to trying to keep things under control by himself. Only a few more minutes, then they’d be ready to launch the pods...
“He used to be brilliant, you know.” Rattrap didn’t startle, as Blackarachnia had probably known that he wouldn’t. The fact that he was so comfortable here that he almost hadn’t caught her skittering across the ceiling to his walkway was something that he would have to be disturbed at, later. For now, he had to deal with her sudden comment.
“Who, him?” He waved his mug in the direction he had been looking at, where the two arachnids were working below him in the engine room. Or, rather, the scorpion was working. The spider... He would say that he didn’t now why the spider, in all his peacefulness, disturbed him, but he knew exactly why. For all that the mech was, by all appearances, a sparked mech, he acted like he had barely more intelligence than a drone, which was, he suspected, why Scorponok had been given the role of caretaker to him. The head technician was a master to five drones that Rattrap had seen, and he was sure there were others he had missed.
He was broken out of his thoughts as the femme standing beside him spoke. “He was the assistant to a high level scientist working for the government. He’d been working on his own experiments in the back of a storage room, looking for ways to speed healing time, things like that.” She fell silent, watching the other spider as he sat on the floor, leaning against a table leg and played with what looked like a tool. “The scientist found out. He was, of course, thrown out of the building, but not before the scientist had done this to him.” The vehemence in her voice was almost startling, and Rattrap glanced over at her, not quite prepared for the expression of disgust and what looked like a hint of fear on her faceplate.
They fell silent for a moment or two longer, Rattrap watching the two arachnids below them before draining his mug and walking away, leaving the she-spider staring out at the tech and the dronemech.