Oddball widens one of his pupils to express confusion, but he was a guest, so he politely backs over to the door and opens it, ducking into the side room.
“Nothing missing,” he says to Newt. “Just had a lance jabbed into my back, is all. Simple patch job.”
Once the door was shut, Oddball would hear a splitting scream the likes of which he probably hadn’t heard before.
“BILGERAT! IF I’VE TOLD YOU ONCE I’VE TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES-”
The rest was a long series of expletives. Most of which thankfully muffled through the door. Eventually there was a loud metal thud, and a vaguely rat shaped dent appeared in the door. Then another thud as something hit the floor. The door was then thrown open, and a rat looking predacon wearing a bandana similar to his beast mode, ran in and cowered in the corner.
Oddball could then see Carapace, smiling sweetly as if nothing had happened.
“Alright dearie. You can come back now.”
Newt nodded.
“Alright then. Go ahead and lie down, and I’ll get started.”
Railgun tosses the tablet over to Tie-Grabber, who in turn tosses it to Machbreaker on the other side of the room. The rocket sled quickly types out a response.
“Your conscious? Or your inner voice? Not sure anymore, boredom makes weird things.” The tablet spits out.
“Thank you sir,” Simulus says.
He looks over the map, seeing what planets and systems still remain. And what factions were still around, new ones that came up, if such territories were mapped out. It had been many years, some planets were probably gone, but nowhere at the rate he was once knew.
“How far do Cybertronians reach these days?” He asks in general.
Torchwing groaned in frustration.
“I swear this is the last slaggin time I do late night watch.”
The main highlighted locations seemed to be Star Tallon outposts. Other parts were labeled as Scavengers, Seacons, and Federation. There was one very significantly highlighted location simply labeled “Home”.
“We keep to ourselves more or less now a days.”
Lockjaw said.
“The reach of Cybertron doesn’t go quite as far out as back in the war. Not that I mind.”
Oddball steps out of the doorway and looks back at the rat-shaped indent in the front of the door, then shifts his gaze to Carapace. He cocks his head and blinks twice.
Backbreaker does as Newt requests and lies on his stomach on the table.
“So you’re the ship’s doctor, I take it?” he asks Newt, trying to make idle conversation.
The three look at each other, having a quick signal chat. After which, Tie-Grabber approaches Torchwing from a side and taps on him.
If “Home” is not Cybertron, Simulus tries to see if he recognizes the planet or location it’s at.
“I’m sure the other civilizations appreciate that. Provided there are others still left.”
“Sorry you had to hear that sweetie. I get a little tense when someone touches my engines. Something our friend Bilgerat makes a habit of.”
“Indeed I am.”
Newt said as he began his work.
“The Cybertronian Medical Bureau would like to disagree, but I’ve never cared what some stuffy maximals think.”
Torchwing looked down.
“A minicon huh? Yeah that explains it.”
He sighed.
“Home” was not a location he would recognize. Though it wasn’t too far from Cybertron either. Relatively speaking. It was a single large, white colored planet orbiting a binary star system.
“There’s plenty of other civilisations out there, trust me. Everyone’s just content to keep to their own now a days.”
Oddball shrugs and nods his head. He then looks over his shoulder at the ratty Predacon- Bilgerat, apparently- to make sure he wasn’t too hurt.
Looking down at the floor, Backbreaker raises an eyebrow.
“Huh. And, uh, just what does the ol’ CMB say to that?”
Bilgerat was scurrying away out of the engines room. He definitely looked injured, but Oddball would have seen worse at the colosseum.
Carapace approached an intercom panel on the wall.
“Could Axis please report to engineering. I’m in need of your assistance.”
It took only a short time for the familiar maximal to reach the engine chambers.
“Alright. What do you- okay, I see. Alright just give me a second.”
Axis activated her translation program, and within a matter of moments Oddball would be able to communicate with Carapace.
“Well to be perfectly honest, I don’t actually have a medical license. Not that the captain or the crew seem to mind. And before you ask, no its not because I’m unethical or anything like that. I just didn’t pass my final exam. Though I swear they lowered my score just because I’m a predacon.”
As Newt went on, he got noticeably angrier. And as he got angrier, he got a little rougher in his work. Though soon calmed down before he was doing more harm than good.
“So, uh… hey,” Oddball says in his translated voice. He waves briefly to Carapace.
“Sorry to hear that,” Backbreaker says, wincing from a particularly irritating jab.
The other two join Tie-Grabber.
“Could be worse, could have been cricketrons.” The tablet responds.
Good. Then word of my new fun shouldn’t spread.
“I see. Thank you for satisfying my curiosity.”
“Oh my stars. Yah sound just as cute as you look.”
Carapace exclaimed.
“So you need anything else or can I go?”
Axis asked.
Newt sighed.
“It’s fine. I got good work here. The crew’s like a family you know?”
At that time a particular bandana wearing rat scurried into the room. To backbreaker he would have almost looked like one of Grimlock’s victims from the arena.
“You went into the engines again didn’t you.”
Newt said.
“It ain’t my fault! There’s no way she needs every little piece to keep this ship running.”
Bilgerat replied.
“I’d say it is absolutely your fault that you keep trying to do the same stupid thing and always expecting to get away with it.”
The medic said coldly. This clearly not the first time these two had been through this, and Newt was clearly not happy about it.
“Yeah yeah. Can you just fix me already?”
“You’ll need to wait. I’m busy.”
Newt said.
“Doesn’t help that I’ve never worked on a model this antiquated.”
He muttered under his breath.
“Yeah, guess so.”
Torchwing said.
“So are you friends of Maximus too or did you guys just sneak on outside of the others?”
“Aye. Don’t mention it.”
Lockjaw said. He then looked to the other Predacon.
“Starchaser! Set us a course for home.”
“Aye captain.”
Starchaser replied. The star map turned off and the lights came back on. The whole ship shuttered ever so slightly as it began to take off.
“Allies of Maximus. Spies and saboteurs for the escape.” They answer with the tablet.
Simulus returns to the previous room to just hang out in there for now.
Oddball shrugs modestly. It was nice to be getting some praise, he had to admit.
Backbreaker looks up at Newt from over his shoulder.
“You calling me old?” he says, feigning indignation at the remark.
“Fascinating.”
Torchwing said, not all to enthused.
“Anyway, it looks like you’ll be stuck with me for a while. Best to get comfortable.”
Princess Thea was still there, looking at Simulus curiously.
“So where do you hail from?”
Carapace asked.
“All you war models are ancient by our standards.”
Newt said.
“A lot of bots these days see you guys as antiquated, out of date, outmoded. And yeah, I’ll admit we definitely got some upgrades on you older bots. But we sure as hell aren’t built as durable as your time.”
Bilgerat limped over to Backbreaker’s head.
“I ain’t never actually seen an autobot before.”
“Cybertron, I think,” Oddball says. “I dunno, actually.”
“Well, I’m about as Autobot as they come,” Backbreaker says to Bilgerat, with pride. “Soon as I heard somebody was putting together an army to fight back against Megatron, I went looking for where I could sign on.”
“Really now? Well that’s unfortunate.”
“Wow.”
Bilgerat said, fairly amazed.
“So, you ever meet the big red guy? What was he like?”
“Eh, it’s okay,” Oddball says. “Doesn’t bother me any.”
“Optimus? He was… amazing,” Backbreaker says. “Never said much more than a ‘yes sir’ to him, though. Wasn’t important enough to get to know him or anything.”
“I know I definitely wouldn’t be so calm about it. I can’t imagine what I’d do if I lost my memory.”
“Wow.”
Bilgerat said
Newt finished his work and gave Backbreaker a pat on the back.
“Alright. You’re all good to go.”
It was clear the medic wasn’t nearly as impressed with the autobot talk as Bilgerat was.
The team gives no response and just goes back to watching the stars for now.
Provided he could see her, he pretends not to notice. He eventually comes nearby to lean against one of the walls, facing away from her. After a minute or two, he speaks quietly, seemingly to no-one.
“Why shouldn’t I report your existence to the queen?”