For the Love of Science: Part 1



2k5 3 - Tuesday, June 05, 2012, 4:37 PM

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Shockwave stares down one of the rows of cells. This is where the special cases go when they aren't being worked on. The poorly lit two-level block has cells on all sides, with larger ones at the very end to handle oversized patients. The word for those being kept here keeps changing depending on who you talk to. Inmates, patients, prisoners, lab rats... there's little use hiding what goes on here. The only sounds are the soft chit-chat of the inhabitants from one cell to another. At the cell block entrance are a pair of Decepticon Genericon guards, holding rifles at the ready. Having two bigwigs from the front line is a special occasion they haven't seen in vorns.

"Buzzkill," Shockwave finally intones, "Make note: Patients are permitted conversation amongst one another. Psychological profiling will need to be updated. Ensure a record is made of those Subjects still able to maintain functional relationships with one another. Cross reference with the length of stay and extrapolate to the next two hundred years."

Shockwave's handle separates into legs as his barrel splits into arms. Straightening out, he completes his transformation into robot mode.

Buzzkill transforms into her robot mode.

Buzzkill stands beside Shockwave, fingers busily tapping away at the datapad in her hand as she takes shorthand notes of literally everything he says. Every now and then she looks up from her work to glare daggers into whatever poor prisoner just happened to be the loudest, silently judging them and their conversations.

"Shockwave, sir," she speaks for the first time since they got here. "Is there a max limit to how many prisoners you can keep in here?" These are the important questions.

About an hour ago, Viator tried sitting up. It didn't work. He can move his head, though, and when he moved it to the left he spotted his lower half on the other side of his cell. Alarming. When he looked up, he saw a Decepticon insignia. So, mildly comforting. Now he can here Shockwave. Verdict: A little nerve wracking.

As Shockwave steps up to the first cell, he replies to Buzzkill, "Only insofar as crowding cannot interfere with the scientific endeavors being conducted here. Isolation and a lack of social interaction can be a valuable part of experimentation, particularly in the psychological realm."

Shockwave stops at the first cell. Inside is a generic green robot slumped on the slab, leaning forward as he rests his elbows on his knees. He doesn't look up at his visitors. Shockwave glances at the datapad in his hand, reading from it. "Subject #28013: Apprehended by the Ministry of Peace six million, one hundred and twelve thousand and forty-nine astroseconds ago for participating in an illegal gathering at the Crystal City Industrial Park. Treatment: Preliminary experimentation with Binary Bonding process by exploiting a preexisting mechanical imbalance in the lower right quadrant of Subject's lasercore. Results: Inconclusive." Shockwave tucks the pad under his gun arm and presses his hand against the cell's lock. The forcefield vanishes and the bars slide into the ceiling and floor. Part of Buzzkill's job is to go in and see what progress has been made medically.

Shockwave steps up at the second cell. "Subject #14860: Autobot gunner apprehended during the First Battle of Duxn three vorns ago by the Twelfth Aerospace Brigade. Treatment: Research into combiner technology along with the four other members of his former squadron." The little red Autobot inside gets up and stomps towards the bars, "Smarmy, one eyed freak," he snarls. Shockwave ignores him, opening the cell door once Buzzkill is ready before moving on.

He is just two doors down from a very familiar brown Seeker.

"Shock...Shockwave?" Might as well try and talk to someone. The old seeker needs answers. The last thing he remembers is crashing in the ice... How long has he been out?

Buzzkill walks into the first cell after Shockwave opens it, stepping right up to the unresponsive, green robot inside and staring down at him with a grim expression. She bends over to grab the patient/prisoner/test subject by the chin and forces his head up so she can look into his optics, empty and dead from his time behind bars. She lets go of him to type something into her datapad, letting his head slump back to it's original position, before planting her foot right in the center of his chest and pushing him over onto his back. Does this have anything to do with checking up on his progress? Not really, but Buzzkill knows a good opportunity to push people around when she sees one. "This one looks fine," she says, despite seeing evidence to the contrary.

She exits the cell and moves to the next one, immediately slapping the little red Autobot as hard as she can as soon as she enters. She takes a moment to type something into her datapad before slapping him again, this time with her left hand. "Hmmmmmmm..." she murmurs thoughtfully, biting down on her lip as if she was deep in thought. "I think it would be best if we removed this one's vocalizer, is all she has to say about that.

Shockwave hears the prognosis of the first patient and marks it down. It's the exact same prognosis the green robot has received for the past two and a half months since arriving. For the second, Shockwave merely confirms, "Acknowledged. Have Subject #14860 prepped for surgery once we are done here." 'Surgery' can mean a great many things. Moving onto the third cell, Shockwave peers in at the glum looking femme currently holding onto the bars. She has a faded Decepticon insignia on her chest. "Subject #8513: Decepticon Central Intelligence operative reassigned here after her mission to Helo-Q." Who knows what backwater planet that is and why she was reassigned to this dismal 'post'. "Treatment: Experimentation in the recreation of the Cerebro Shell device on a Subject with a Level 5 psyche profile. Result: Unsatisfactory." Shockwave opens the cell for Buzzkill before stepping onto the next.

Upon hearing his name, the cyclops looks into the cell at the brown Seeker. There's more than a glimmer of recognition upon seeing Viator there. Glancing down at his datapad, Shockwave reads, "Subject #21051..." So, how /did/ Viator get here?

"Is this...an infirmary?" The old seeker's optics fade in and out. Viator gestures at his bottom half on the other side of the room. "I require repairs, commander." He can make out a second figure beyond the cyclops...The insecticon. For whatever reason, her presence doesn't exactly fill him with confidence. "There are Autobots here, commander...I saw...Airblade when I was brought in...she was lost on Helo-Q...dead...what is this place?"

Buzzkill's expression sours as she takes note of the faded insignia on the femme's chest. While it's always disappointing to see a fellow Decepticon in such a state, there's usually a reason for it, and Buzzkill (being the pessimist she is) assumes the worst. She steps into the cell, looks the femme over a few times, types something into her datapad, and then whacks her across the face with it as nonchalantly as possible, knocking her right off her feet. It's at this point Buzzkill decides that SCIENCE is the best thing ever.

She exits the cell and peers into the next one, her jaw dropping once she realizes who resides within it. "Viator, sir!" She looks between him and the lower half of his body slumped against the other side of the room. "You don't look so good."

Buzzkill is very observant, you see.

"...recovered in Antarctica by a salvage team after being dismantled by an Earth Defence Command strike force," Shockwave continues. At the Seeker's questions, Shockwave pauses, looking back up at him. There's a brief moment as he performs a quick cost-benefit analysis on the aging Decepticon. Although he fails to acknowledge Viator's questions, he lets Buzzkill speak with him before looking down at the pad again and continuing.

"Initial diagnosis by Shady Medic revealed a crack in Subject's transformation cog. Replacement was deemed impossible due to his antiquated systems. Decepticon Records Management was unable to determine when the cog was originally installed, but the Seeker class and type is unknown. Subject was reassigned here to preserve resources rather than pursue researching a cure."

"Treatment..." Shockwave pauses. "Currently unassigned. Buzzkill, I leave the next course of action for this patient in your hands." Shockwave believes in on-the-job training when it comes to anything so unimportant.

Viator's optics go wide. "Commander... No! I am loyal to the Empire! I have leaked and burned for Lord Galvatron! Why, in my day our elders were-" A floaty drone thing shoots an electric sort of purple thingy at the Seeker and he goes dark.

Buzzkill always respected the hell out of Viator for his millions and millions of years of dedicated service so seeing locked up in a shady medical facility such as this is a little sad but she knows too well that weak links need to be eliminated to keep the Empire strong. Without the ability to transform, the Seeker is only useful for spare parts at best and for a moment Buzzkill considers suggesting they just put him down. And then inspiration strikes. Viator can still be an asset to the Empire, he can still fight the good fight, he just needs a little alteration.

"I have an idea, Shockwave, sir." She looks down the rows of cells that line the hallway. "What if we take Viator and surgically attach him to another robot? That way he can feed off his twin's energy source, saving us the resources we'd spend keeping the both of them alive seperately." It makes perfect sense to Buzzkill.

"And you will continue to do so," Shockwave tells the now silent Seeker. He too respected Viator to a certain degree; certainly the Seeker impressed him enough to grant him an increase in rank. But the cost-benefit analysis does not lie, and the surgery to repair his transformation cog would be complicated, expensive, and have no guarantee of a surviving patient at the end. Turning back to Buzzkill, he listens her to her psychotic idea. "What long term benefit does this give us?" he asks.

"There are actually a couple that I can think of, sir," Buzzkill begins, tucking her datapad under her arm and giving Shockwave her full attention. "One is that we'll get to keep a great soldier in our ranks. The other...think of how horrified the Autobots would be when faced with such an abomination, especially if we fused him with one of their own. We could use their fear to our advantage and completely decimate them." The Insecticon's lips twist into a sick little smile as she speaks but it disappears as quickly as it came. "Of course, I would prefer to try the procedure with some expendable bodies first to see if it can even be done. I don't want to risk Viator until I know for sure it will work." She turns her attention to the maimed Seeker in the cell. "In the meantime, maybe we should put his legs back on."

Shockwave stares back at Buzzkill, not letting it show whether he believes she's touched by sentimentality towards the old codger or not. Despite being unsure of whether Viator can hear him (those purple cyber-tasers are tricky things), Shockwave goes right ahead and talks about him if he wasn't there. "Fear is a powerful weapon, though only against lesser beings." He thinks for a moment longer, "Very well. Subject #21051 has been reassigned to Experimental Medical Rehabilitation." Shockwave taps a button on the datapad with his thumb, "I have transfered Subject's life into your care."

An angry voice rises up from down the hall. An Autobot voice. "Animals! You're all animals! It's not just mad science...it's crazed! It's inmechable!" The energon weak Bottlethrottle grips the bars of his cell, shaking a fist with his eyes. "I'll escape! By the Matrix I'll escape and" A second drone shoots a purple electrical thingy at him. He hits the ground, face pressed against the bars.

Honestly, it's probably a good thing Buzzkill is only responsible for Viator and not someone important because she is far from a medical professional and chances are the Seeker is going to be in even worse shape by the time she's done with him. "Thank you, sir. I am honoured to have this opportunity." She reaches into her subspace pocket and pulls out a huge, terrifying drill that roars to life with the press of a button. "I watched an instructional video about this the other day," she says, opening the cell and stepping inside. "Theres absolutely no doubt in my mind that this can go awry."

Shockwave glances back over his shoulder towards the sound of the shouting until the drone silences it. Subject #14860 has managed to keep his spirits high despite the severe conditions. The courage of Autobots never ceases to amaze Shockwave... especially given how futile it is. Once the Autobot has been treated, Shockwave turns back to Buzzkill. "Honour," he drones, "Has nothing to do with it. Destroy however many Subjects required to satiate your scientific research." Shockwave waves his hand dismissively. He moves onto the next cell, apparently fine with leaving Buzzkill to operate without supervision.

Making Viator walk again is Buzzkill's top priority right now and since she's been given clearance to do pretty much whatever she wants in the name of science, she decides to give him a little upgrade: brand new legs! Except they're not brand new at all, they're used. Actually, they're not even used, they're more like 'in use' but that wont be for much longer.

Buzzkill leaves the Seeker and re-enters the cell housing the glum Decepticon femme she slapped around earlier, the drill she was previously holding now replaced by a circular saw. With no where to run in her tiny cell, the imprisoned femme is easilly cornered and after a couple of minutes Buzzkill returns to Viator's cell with a pair of sexy legs in tow. She attaches them in possibly the crudest way possible, tying the wires sticking out of the femme's dismembered lower half with the ones poking out of Viator's own severed torso, and then drilling the two parts together with industrial-use screws. When she's done, Buzzkill steps back to admire her work. "If Viator were concious now, he would thank me for a job well done, I'm sure."