3. GIVE THIS 'BOT A HAND
--Six months ago--
"Well, what do you think?"
Getting up from the repair slab, Optimus Prime flexed the arms of his new body and began packing back and forth, getting a feel for his new motors.
"So far, so good," he said.
"Give your transformation cog a spin," Ratchet said. "See if it works."
Optimus did so, morphing into a red and blue truck. He drove around the medibay in it for a few minutes before returning to his robot mode.
"Everything seems to be working fine," the Autobot leader said. "Thank you, Ratchet. You do very fine work."
The medic grunted. "Enjoy it while you can; my skills aren't the same these days."
"What do you mean?"
Ratchet held up his hands. "My servos have been acting up. They're not as swift and efficient as they used to be, and they keep freezing up."
"Have you thought about getting new ones?"
Ratchet shook his head. "These hands are irreplaceable, Prime. Once they cease function, I cease to be of any use."
Optimus seemed as if he was about to protest but decided against it; the doctor was simply in another one of his moods. "Have you been training any successors?"
"Yeah, I've been giving First Aid some pointers. He might not be as skilled as most forged medics, but he's got the right personality-- and his bedside manner is light years better than Ambulon's."
"Speaking of medics," Optimus murmured. "Have First Aid and Ambulon told you about Pharma yet?"
The sigh which the old medic gave him told Prime everything he needed to know.
"I used to respect him," Ratchet said quietly. "We worked together at the Deltaran Medical Facility. Him, Remedy, and me-- all three of us were at the top of our classes. Now with him being off his rocker and me being on my last legs... it feels like those days are at an end."
"He's been put on trial, from what I hear," Optimus said. "If-- or rather, when he's proven guilty, there's a chance that his sentence will be death, for killing all of those patients at Delphi."
"If you want my opinion on the matter, then I have none," Ratchet grunted. "Let them do what they want with him. In my eyes, he's already dead."
"Very well. Just thought I'd ask." Turning to leave the medibay, Optimus gave the medic one last glance. "Thank you again, Ratchet. Never think your work is unappreciated."
"Wouldn't dream of it...." Ratchet muttered.
--Now--
"They say that a million years ago, on this very spot, the first Cybertronian realized that he could change shape. Six thousand years ago, right here, Nova Prime told the world that he had built an Ark...."
Ratchet was the only one in the medibay watching Hot Rod's televised speech. He had heard word of some sort of quest being put under consideration by High Command. Given that Ultra Magnus was standing with the young Autobot as he made his speech, it must have been approved.
"...Tomorrow, this patch of land becomes a launch pad. Tomorrow, a crew of Autobots and I shall set off to find the Knights of Cybertron, our fabled ancestors...."
"Kid sure knows how to give a speech."
Ratchet turned to see his old friend Remedy walk in to the room. He gave her a warm smile. "He sure does. Have you seen the crowds? You'd think Starscream was coming out and announcing to the world that he was a closet Autobot."
Remedy chuckled. "That would be something. So, are you thinking of joining?"
"You mean the quest?" Ratchet shrugged. "Probably. I know that I don't believe in any of that Guiding Hand rubbish, let alone the Knights... but First Aid told me that Hot Rod is planning on picking up stray 'bots along the way."
"And you feel obligated to help fix them?"
Ratchet nodded. "I'm getting old, Remedy. My hands are getting old. I want to make the best of what little use they have left, and since the war's over and all, there probably won't be as many injured 'bots as there used to be. Besides, Prime's still got you and Fixit to stand in for me."
"That's true." Remedy fell silent for a moment before saying, "Anyway, I came here to give you a gift."
"A gift? What did I do?"
Remedy smiled. "You've fixed pretty much every Autobot that's ever served, including three Primes... and yet I don't think you've been rewarded for it."
"Well, I have been given a Nominus Prize for Medicine." Ratchet shook his head. "But I don't need a reward, Remedy. Seeing each and every Autobot I've fixed live another day is enough for me."
"Even so, please accept this one." She handed him a small metal box, shiny enough for him to see his reflection in it. "I say you've earned it."
Ratchet opened his mouth to protest when a voice on the viewscreen caught his attention.
"That was Rodimus of Nyon addressing a crowd at Rivets Field in Iacon earlier today...."
Ratchet towards the viewscreen, his mouth agape. "'Rodimus?' He's calling himself 'Rodimus?' As in... what, a portmanteau of 'Hot Rod' and 'Optimus?'"
"Wow," Remedy said, equally as bemused. "That's just... that's just wow."
"I'll say," Ratchet grunted. Looking down at the box, he then said, "Anyway... thanks for the gift, Remedy. I... I appreciate it."
"Not as much as we appreciate you," she replied cheerfully.
Ratchet gave her a grateful nod before leaving the medibay. Once he was out in the streets of Iacon, he stopped to admire the package's finish one last time before opening.
Inside, resting on a soft bed of white, was a pair of red hands.
For the first time in forever, Ratchet grinned.
--Six months ago--
"We the jury find the defendant guilty for the deaths of twenty Autobot patients at the medical facility Delphi on the planet Messatine, and for committing treason by falling in league with the Decepticon Justice Division. As punishment, he shall be sent to the Garrus-16 facility for life and be held under high security."
"So be it then," Emirate Xaaron said as he slammed his mallet down. "Court adjourned."
The Autobots in the courtroom began to file out while Pharma was escorted away. As he got down from his podium, Xaaron glanced at Ultra Magnus, who had been serving as prosecutor.
"Brings back bad memories, doesn't it?" Xaaron said grimly.
"The Aequitas trials? Indeed it does," Magnus said, bitterly recalling the trials which had revealed so many corrupt Autobots. "Which reminds me... has there been any word from Garrus-9?"
Xaaron shook his head. "As far as I know, it's still under Decepticon control. Starscream tells me that he'll be looking into it--"
"I don't trust Starscream as far as I can throw him," Magnus interjected. "The data which Aequitas contains is too valuable to let fall into Decepticon hands, even with the war over."
"What do you propose we do?"
Magnus rubbed his chin. "I think it's time we gave the Wreckers their last mission."
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