CHAPTER TWO
--The Lost Light, bridge--
"I swear that blasted hyper-drive is going to be the death of me," Nautica groused as she stormed onto the bridge.
"You can't get it to work?" Rodimus asked, sitting in his command chair.
"It's working just find but it's low on fuel. I don't know how it could have gone down so fast after only two jumps."
Rodimus sighed. "Scrap. Of all the times for it to give out on us, it's when we've just got to the start of our quest. Mainframe, what's the nearest inhabitable planet?"
"Hedonia, at two hundred thousand parsecs. It will take approximately four and a half hours to reach it-- and that's even at full speed."
As Rodimus groaned softly, Ultra Magnus said, "I told you we should have checked on the engines while we were at Ideji."
"I know." Pinching the bridge of his nose, Rodimus said, "Nautica, go fetch Perceptor-- maybe he can help you with the hyper-drive. Worse comes to worse, we could always call Cybertron for help...."
"Speaking of which," Blaster said from his station, "I'm picking up a distress signal. It's in some sort of weird binary code though."
Rodimus rubbed his chin. "Mainframe, see if you can help decipher it. And let's hope it's not coming from somewhere further than Hedonia...."
* * *
"Whoa, that is unreal!" Swerve exclaimed, interrupting Drift's part of the story. "Are you telling us that Megatron-- Pre-Megatron-- once saved your life?"
Drift shrugged. "Pretty much. I mean, it's not like I knew what he was going to end up like at the time."
"So how did Optronix handle those thugs?" Tailgate asked.
--The past--
"You have the right to deactivate your vocal circuits."
Optronix delivered a swift punch to Sonic's midsection, causing him to stagger back.
Boom cried in rage as he lunged at Optronix from behind. Barely glancing over his shoulder, Optronix fired his gun at him, hitting the thug square in the chest.
"Anything you say can and will be used against you in court."
Before either thug could recover their bearings, Optronix retrieved them and tied them up to his combat staff, which he had thrust into the ground.
"And for the record, I've seen turbofoxes fight better than you."
He then moved over to the downed Drift, whose optics were sizzling. Grimacing, Optronix held up a communicator to his mouth. "Roller? This is Optronix. I've got a circuit booster addict here in Rodion, beaten up badly. I'm taking him to Ratchet. In the meantime, there are two thugs needing pickup. You'll know them when you see them. Optronix out."
Ending the call, Optronix bent down and picked up the mech, carrying him in his arms. "Let's get you fixed up."
--Present--
"Hold up just a second," Chromedome said, turning to Ratchet. "Sentinel Prime had already made you chief medical officer by that point, right? So what were you doing running a clinic in Rodion?"
"I wasn't all that satisfied with my new position," Ratchet answered. "Optronix suggested that I open up a free clinic to repair Empties, though it was kept secret from Sentinel and the High Council. They would have frowned upon it, see it as a waste of time."
"So, Drift," Rewind said, "you came around at Ratchet's clinic and...?"
--The past--
"Give me three good reasons why I shouldn't arrest you, and the first two don't count."
"Ah, ease off on him, Optronix," Ratchet said as he helped the revived Drift up on his repair slab. "He knows what he did was wrong and got his punishment for it."
He grabbed the derelict mech by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "Listen, kid, I just saved your life. What you do with it from this point forward is up to you. Get a refurbishment, find a Functionist office to get you a job, and make the best of what you have. You're special, lad, I know it. Now go out there and prove me right."
Drift smiled weakly as he got off the slab. "I appreciate the advice... but I've been thinking about donating my body to a Relinquishment Clinic. Make a photon microscope happy by letting him drive around as a race car for a day."
Ratchet snorted. "It's cheap and nasty body tourism, pal. Who knows what it'll lead to."
"Yeah, but it pays well." Drift headed for the door. "Thanks again for the repairs. I promise you that you'll never see me upload another circuit booster again."
"I'm gonna hold you to that," the medic muttered. Once the younger mech was gone, Ratchet turned to see that Optronix had yet to leave, instead standing in the light of the clinic's television screen. optics glued to the footage. Ratchet walked up to stand beside him.
"I thought you hated television," the medic said. "I've lost count on how many rants you've made about how it rots the brain module--"
"Councilor Sherma has been murdered," Optronix said bluntly.
Ratchet's optics widened. "Seriously?"
"Apparently he was found hanging from the Interstate Bridge here in Rodion, with a cryptic message painted on his back. It's under investigation now."
Ratchet shook his head grimly. "Ah, people are just getting more and more unruly the more the Council tightens its grip. Pretty soon, things are gonna stop breaking from the pressure."
"That's a nice turn of phrase. I'll make sure to use it some day." Optronix crossed his arms. "Anyway, I feel that there's more to this than meets the optic sensor. The phrase painted on his back-- 'They are watching us'-- doesn't match something any of the major opposition groups-- Triple M, the Malware Brigade-- would put."
"I think you're putting too much thought into it," Ratchet said. "Odds are, it's just an addled mech taking things too far."
"I'd like to believe you, but I can't. I need to make an investigation of my own." Optronix turned to leave bu stopped to glance at Ratchet. "You're free to come with me if you'd like."
"Can't. I've got a duty here."
"A technically illegal duty."
Ratchet scowled at him. "Hey, you talked me into it! If I get arrested for doing this, then... then...." He sighed. "Where are we going?"
"The Ark Memorial Plaza, to meet with someone who I think can help."
--Present--
"Excuse me, can I go now?" Drift asked. "Sorry, but... Rodimus keeps messaging me and each time I don't respond, he gets kinda nasty...."
"Not a problem," Rewind said. "I think now's a good time for a little break. Swerve, how about some refreshments?"
As the bartender went to prepare drinks and Drift rose from his seat, Skids turned to the latter. "What's Rodimus messaging you about anyway?"
Drift frowned. "I'm not exactly sure, but I'm starting to worry about his mental health: he says a wall is trying to make contact with him."
* * *
"I'm serious, that's what I'm reading here," Mainframe said, looking over Blaster's monitor. "I haven't figured out the entire message yet, but it says its sender's name is 'Wall.'"
"And I thought 'Hot Rod' was a pretty dumb name," Rodimus said. "Keep analyzing it, Mainframe. It's gotta make more sense than that."
A tap on the shoulder directed his attention to Ultra Magnus. "Red Alert just called me," the second-in-command said, sounding apprehensive. "He says there's a problem down at Rung's office."
"What sort of problem?"
"He says there's an intruder on board."
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