| abstract | - Iacon Plain -- The Past The Iacon Plain is often obscure by fog or red-lit by the heavens. When the plain can be seen clearly, it is cut by criss-crossing deep trenches. The trenches march the back and forth advances and retreats around Iacon, when the city has been besieged. Far from a war of miles, this has barely been a war of meters. The ground is slick, and it ois easy to get bogged down. Specter cautiously makes his way up from Iacon's Medical facilities ... coming out of a recharge cycle to find the base in disarray and wounded in need of help. It doesn't matter that this Autobot couldn't provide a field welding to save his core, but that he can at least carry them off to more skilled allies. Whistling, "Whew, what happened here?" he states apparently to no one in particular. Cinder is currently trying to stop Patchwork, but is starting to give up, seeing just how stubborn she is. He lowers his ears in defeat, sighs, and turns toward Specter. "Decepticons attacked," he says simply. "Now help me out here and stop Patchwork!" Maybe now he'll have a chance! Patchwork is off towards the edge of the battlefield, Cinder in front of her trying to block her way. Patchwork herself doesn't look to be one hundred percent, but the set of her jaw and the bright glare of her optics seem to suggest she's s et her mind on some course of action and is trying to put it into play. Specter approaches them both, a hand placed on Patchwork's shoulder. "Latchwork, what's got you all upset?" he asks, still getting her name wrong. The Autobot shoots Cinder an uneasy glare, as if to communicate a feeling of weariness. "The Decepticons took Ultra Magnus," Cinder explains, "and Patchwork's trying to go after them." "NO SHE NOT." And that'd be Grimlock- Energo Sword in hand! He stomps in from some other corner of the battlefield- having missed the big fireworks...much to the big Dinobot's ire. Grimlock gives a grunt, and then keeps tromping towards the little gathering. "You Patchwork no be dummy!" he commands. "I'm -not-!" Patchwork informs Grimlock with a small stomp of her foot that, really, is completely lost in comparison to the dinobots own trompig approach. "But it's -my- fault they got Magnus. Is hould have been watching him, helping him, not stupid Prime's guys...and that meanie Prime won't help him. So we have to, and you're more important to the Autobots than I am, so you can't go because you need to make it back home." "Back home?" Specter asks, scratching his head plate. "No, it is NOT your fault!" Cinder exclaims, silently pleased that Grimlock agrees with him. "Stop being stupid, Patchwork! You're not going!" Grimlock tromps in front of Patchwork- and then points at Specter. "You shut up." he says- And then he just glares impassively at Patchwork. "Hnn. You stop whining, too." he rumbles- still as gravely and mean as ever. "It not you fault! It THEM fault. 'sides, if you just go in theres, them gonna 'splode you, 'cuz you just one gurl." he grunts, and glances over his shoulder, presumably to where they've taken Ultra Magnus. "Me Grimlock guess me rescue him guy." "But maybe whilel they're 'spode me', it will be enough of a distration, and Ultra Magnus can get free!" Patchwork informs Grimlock, hand lifting to her hip before she hrumphs, and then nods to Specter. "I -told- your stupid mean Prime but he won't listen. So did Fairway." Specter steps back from the group, going over to the left to help a fallen comrade up to his feet. "There you go Vanguard." he cheerily states, helping the Autobot. "Why don't you grab Tripwire and you two can lean on eachother back to the Nurse's office?" Craning his neck back at the Dinobot and the Medic, he rolls his optics. Femme's gonna get herself killed acting rashly like that. Grimlock grunts. "That STUPID plan! Specially since it him Ultra Magnus. Him big loser." he says. And then he just grunts at Patchwork- and then brings his free hand down in an attempt to grab her and sling her unceremoniously over his broad shoulder! "You Patchwork not going ANYWHERES." he declares. "You need wait for me Grimlock SUPER GREAT PLAN." a pause. "...me Grimlock tell you plan once me think of its. Which be soon!" And so Patchwork, in all her damaged glory, is uncerimoniously hauled up and onto Grimlock's shoulder, yelping as it happens. And she's suddenly looking upside down at Specter and Cinder. If she could blush, she would. "Put me DOWN, Grimlock! Grimlock hnfs. "Nope." he rumbles- and then starts tromping back into Iacon! "Not 'til you girlbot stop being stupids. Might be really long time." he grunts- and off he goes! Specter helps another injured mech up to his feet, this one hobbling a bit worse off thant he rest. "Well, my job is never done it seems." he laughs, helping the wounded Autobot off towards the Medical facility. Nurse's Office - Iacon -- The Past The nurse's office is in a shambles as poor, frazzled Pipo tries desperately to clean back and return the assorted tools, scanners, and robomedications to where they belong. He never actually manages to get this done before some other person - as often as not, the Prime himself - comes stumbling in needing repairs and forcing him to pull everything back out again. The patients are no help, cheerfully leaving the area in as much of a shambles as they can get away with - some sort of revenge on Pipo for being a male Micromaster nurse instead of a hot babe nurse. If he ever had time to take a proper inventory, Pipo might realize that someone's been raiding those medical cabinets, but he doesn't, and so it's gone unnoticed. Specter carries another wonded soldier in, laying him down on a repair slab. With such a limited number of medicly trained Autobots, the field surgeon hands him a basic repair manual and surgical kit. "Oh, really? Well, I guess I'll help out where I can." he states, moving towards someone with both optics blown out. He's not sure just what he'll do here. Patchwork is standing off by one of the beds, working, albeit without her usual good cheer and bright bedside manner. Downright glum, Patchwork apparently was deposited here by Grimlock, and she's keeping busy. "Hey, Latchwork!" Specter shouts out, in a room full of wounded cranky people. Almost in unison, the patients and medics yell out to quiet him. "Okay, jeez." Specter mutters, making his way over towards her. "Think you can give me a hand with this?" he asks. "Patchwork," the medic mutters quietly as she shoots a dull-opticed look towards Specter. Finishing up a last weld on the Bot she'd been helping, s he turns fully to face him with a sigh. "What do you need?" she wonders, looking from him to the kit and back. "A medical training lesson too much to ask?" Specter smiles, thrusting a basic manual in her hands. "Oh, sorry ... coulda swore your name was Latchwork." Patchwork shakes her head just a bit. "No. Patchwork. And...okay. Sure." she takes the manual with a grunt as it's banged against her chestplate - already damaged, and as usual, the last to let herself be looked after, she didn't really need that. "Just...keep it simple. If you aren't -sure- you k now how to do the repair...don't.' Specter shrugs, "That's the thing ... I don't know how to do any of this stuff." he laughs, taking a few tools out of the pack given to him. "Okay, so Tripwire here has two busted optics and a damaged audio processor ... how do we go about fixing that?" "First, you make sure he's resting...you don't want to cause him more pain." And Patchwork is quick to check that before she moves on, fingers moving swift and s ure as she begins removing panels and prodding parts. "The damaged parts need to be repaired, or replaced." Specter nods up and down, enthusiasticly. "Wow, you're pretty good at this. So first I check to see if they're online ... then if not, I shut them down?" he asks, trying to express in attentiveness. "Yes, make sure they are shut down." Patchwork agrees quietly as she continues her work, optics focused on the circuits and parts in front of her. She's quiet, hunched over, hrming quietly to herself as she works. "So, what then? Do we try to order custom parts or make do with the factory standard replacements?" Specter questions, leaning over to inspect her handiwork. Patchwork rolls her shoulders in a slight shrug. "You're blocking my light. And we use whatever we have at hand. If there's time, custom is fine, but if not...then standard is okay too." Nudging him over, she tries to get her light back to make her work just that much easier. Specter backs away quickly, "Oh, sorry." Pacing around to the otherside of the table, Tripwire's hand suddenly falls off the slab and hits him on the hip. "Hey, he's not shut down Patchwork!" Patchwork blinks, looking up. "Yes, he is. His hand may just have been badly placed next to him. Set it back up on the table, gently." she instructs, surveying Tripwire for a moment before she looks back to her work, reconnecting a few more wires. Specter grabs hold of Tripwire's hand, carefully placing it on the slab beside the wounded Autobot. "Okay, so now what?" "Now," Patchwork murmurs, distractedly as she focuses intently on several minute wires. "I reconnect these and..." Soldering them together briefly, she then moves to replace the panel above them. "Refill his energon and then wake him up." "Shouldn't we put on a new panel ... or at least bang out the dents on that one?" Specter asks, moving to grab an energon recharge station on wheels. Dragging it over, he extends the hose and lays it across Tripwire's still frame. Patchwork hesitates a moment before she steps back, shoulders stiffening a bit. "Im a field medic...but you're probably right. I"m not much good at that, though." Specter nods, hooking Tripwire up to the recharge station. "Well, thanks for the quick run through ... I've got some other things to look into. Listen, .." he states, quietly whispering to her. "Don't worry about your friend, I'm sure that Grimsmock guy will be able to get him back ... but going in there by yourself or worrying about it aren't going to do you -or- him any good." Patchwork stills as Specter steps in, and lowers his voice, while speaking to him. "Its my fault he's there. I can't make things any worse than they are for Ultra Magnus...and I wouldn't be a very good friend if I -didn't- worry." she replies, quietly, optics darkening as she turns slowly to face Specter more fully. "Yeah, it sucks not being there for your friends ... but I'm sure he doesn't hold it against you or anything. Just think, tomorrow he'll probably be back here laughing about it!" Specter replies, still in hushed tones. "In fact, it'll be easy to pull off if we get our numbers up ... the Decepticons are splintered and fractioned as well, security is a joke." "Ultra Magnus doesn't laugh. He's serious, and strong, and a great leader and fighter. And he -always- keeps up on his paperwork. But he doesn't laugh...and he doesn't like my laughing all the time, either. I don't think most of the Autobots do. And maybe they're right. Maybe if I studied more about fighting, if I was more serious and paid more attention this wouldn't have happened." the little femme replies slowly, in dawning realization before she rolls her shoulders in a heavy shrug. "And your stupid Prime saidhe won't help Ultra Magnus." Specter sighs, his shoulder slumped and gaze cast downward. "Well, Sentinel isn't ..." he starts, then casts a worried look around. When he's sure no one is listening, "..the best leader, or Matrix bearer for that matter. He's still new to the job, and he's not up to the responsibility you see. He used to be a good guy, but I think the weight of all the stuff that comes with it changed him ... for the worse." "That isn't an excuse. Not for anyone, and -especially- not the Matrix bearer." Patchwork answers back, quietly. "And now Ultra Magnus is going to pay for his not good at the job-ness." Specter nods, then silently steps off to the side, withdrawing from the room. "Well, that might be ... but I'm fairly certain we'll be able to get him back without too much effort. Chin up lass, could be worse." "How?" Patchwork immediately answers, her inate curiousity returning n that brief moment as she turns to watch Specter as he steps out. "Oh you'll see, I promise you that!" Specter adds, leaving the room before another medic could chastise him for his level of voice.
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