(Untitled)

[doc_ratchet]

Ratchet glances up curiously when the lights in the Medbay seem to dim suddenly. Hmm. Either Metroplex has an undiagnosed power fluxuation problem, or... Or they may have a bit of an unseen visitor popping in again

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[attair_al_fada]

Starscream regards Jetstorm thoughtfully. "Looks like the first thing to do is open panels and map how you've got things hooked up. I'll let Ratchet do that--he's got a gentler touch than I."

His optics glow too brightly as he studies Fireflight and his brothers, Looking at the five sparks so oddly linked. "Hmmm, that's interesting...."

Auspex worries finally register in Starscream's audials and he responds with a derisive noise. "You weren't so terribly worried when Ratchet was moving my head and core from one body to another! There are standard procedures for parts of this operation--whenever someone is so gravely injured that a complete body rebuild is required, you have to do a CPU and core transfer. Ratchet has done that many times--I know, I've seen enough Bots back in the field that I was sure I'd blasted beyond repair."

He bends at the waist, looking at the proffered wing from another angle. "Mapping out the wiring connections with Jetstorm is simply an exercise in forensic engineering--again, something both Ratchet and I are competent at. Wiring up Fireflight to his new body in parallel with his existing connections to Jetstorm is something any junior technician could do. Once you confirm that the new connections are working, you can disconnect the old ones."

"No, the difficult part is moving the cores and their sparks. I'm not sure if they are using the old cores still--but I think we should move them just in case, and keep them properly powered. There might be a non-obvious connection to their sparks." He glances at Auspex and frowns, then says drily, "In spite of occasional exciting lapses of judgment, I am not, in fact, an idiot."

"If what I am starting to suspect is the case, and Jetstorm doesn't know how to safely reverse it, Fireflight and the others will just have to live with their sparks in their heads."

Don't let yourselves get decapitated again, boys. Starscream's CPU is already operating at high speed, evaluating the prospective operation--so he censors himself before the words hit his vocalizer. He opens a private channel to Auspex, copied to Ratchet.

// Priestess, you're supposedly here to help. If you keep showing this much nervousness and doubt to Jetstorm, we're going to have problems, starting with me pissing off the Chief Medic here by tossing you out of his Medbay. //

[primus_seeress]

*she sighs, as Starscream completely misses her point* This is not a question of trust! I am not doubting your skills, in the realm of what is known about the workings of a body, and forgive me if it seemed that I was. I know better than to question the procedures of a skilled CMO and engineer! I am talking about what is not known... you said yourself that you're not certain how exactly the spark is sustained... and that is what concerns me, as matters of the spark are important to a servant of Primus.

I wanted to know if their sparks must remain in their heads, as that will not be a very safe place anymore. I wanted to know that we were certain they could be moved, and I see that we are not. I was going to suggest... that I may be able to see what exactly he did, if I can find... one of his memories of the subject. *she supresses a shudder*

[blackwingdove]

This talk of not knowing how the sparks work makes Jetstorm feel a little edgy. The transfer of the spark is the most important after all; moving body-parts isn't that hard.

"I have several distinct memories on the subject. I am not sure how useful they would be." He doesn't comment on how unpleasant they are. That goes without saying.

[doc_ratchet]

"Given that your sparks reside in your cranial compartments, and you all managed to survive quite some time totally separated and utterly independant from Jetstorm, that pretty much proves that your sparks will survive the move to your new bodies," Ratchet observes calmly, surprisingly devoid of his customary biting tone as he addresses the four Aerialcrons. "Particularly since, unlike Motormaster, I don't intend on letting you go without support during the procedure."

"However," he continues, glancing from Jetstorm to Auspex and back again, "provided that you two can both stand these memories, I think it might prove more useful than you think, Jetstorm, for Auspex to have a better understanding - your understanding - of what was originally done. There's more work to be done, even after all the transfers are accomplished, and it's going to help Auspex help all of you to know what she's dealing with, regardless."

His attention shifts back to the Aerialcrons again, including Auspex and Jetstorm in his piercing look. His voice when he speaks again is firm, almost cool, the voice of a mech who is used to holding shattered remains together with little more than a handful of wires and a bit of duct tape and yanking the spark back from the siren's call of the Allspark on a regular basis. The voice of a mech who doesn't bow to Death willingly or easily. That subtle tone of cool aplomb that other, less aware mechs would call a "Primus-complex."

The voice of the CMO.

"I do, however, disagree with one point. It is a question of trust. Before I go any further here, I need to know that you are all really prepared for this, and that you trust us and trust me to accomplish this. I won't lie to you and tell you that everything's going to go off without a hitch. Nothing is fool-proof. There's risks in any and every proceedure, whether it's a patch and paint or a rebuild. I'm confident, but if you aren't, there's no point in continuing."

[primus_seeress]

*Auspex winces, deliberating* I... only hesitate on leaving their sparks in their heads, where they are more vulnerable. Essentially: is it better to risk dying if your head is damaged, or better to risk spark-damage by moving it? If I first see what was done, it will most probably lower the second risk...

*it is also apparent that the second choice will be more painful for her, but if it makes them safer, she will do so*

[blackwingdove]

Ratchet's confidence calms Jetstorm in a way that Auspex fails to rerouse. This is a medic, this one must be trusted because there is no other choice. And, as the mech who once was Silverbolt knows, there is no one better to do the job.

He meets the ambulance's optic squarely. "I am confident in your abilities."

There's really no need to tell Ratchet that he would obliterate this medical facility if one of his brothers died. That would just make him nervous.

"As am I," Skydive says softly. The other Aerialcrons chime their agreement.

"And," Jetstorm turns to Auspex. "I shall let you see what I did, priestess. The knowledge may assist you."

[doc_ratchet]

Ratchet nods, not privy to Jetstorm's thoughts on the matter, but not entirely unaware. He's seen Jetstorm carried in hallucinating before. He's pieced the Unicronian back together from forcible dismemberment at the hands of Motormaster, who ended up in worse shape, by all accounts.

Ratchet is more aware than one would imagine that Jetstorm's stability is perilous at best. And what that will bode for everyone should they fail this task.

"Good. Now then... Do you need to be undisturbed to show Auspex what she needs to see? Or can you do that while Starscream and I start the process of tracing down all of the systems we'll need to work with to disengage their systems from yours?"

[blackwingdove]

"I suspect that your probings would distract me."

[doc_ratchet]

"Then I'll hold off. Your work takes precedence," ratchet replies, motioning for Auspex to take his place closer to the repair berth Jetstorm is seated on.

[primus_seeress]

*Auspex nods mutely. She trembles slightly, somewhat nervous; this will be a difficult memory, and this is not an ability she prefers to use often. She will feel much more confident of this spark-placement issue after seeing how it was done... but she will mostly likely be upset by what she sees. Trading one pain for another...*

*She quietly steps toward the berth, holding fast to Primus's power, calming, soothing, strengthening. She is now sufficiently relaxed, but her voice is still rather soft and subdued, as she meets Jetstorm's gaze* When you feel Primus's presence, think on the memories, either when you were taught this, or when you performed it, in as much detail as you can. I will attempt to see them as they come to you.

I am not sure how you may feel after this, but I suspect you'll not have many more problems, than if you'd simply recalled the memories normally. I may... be a little weak. *or too shocked to move. Probably both*

*She reaches to rest her hand on his shoulder, darkening her optics and further settling her mind in her god's power, allowing it to grow, overflow, and eventually touch Jetstorm's spark.*

*After a few moments, she feels the gentle echo of Jetstorm's mind, as Primus begins to reflect the abstract images and impressions of his conscious thought, steadily increasing, until she can read them almost as well as Primus's himself.*

*Whispers of consciousness, acknowledgement from Primus, I am here..*

[blackwingdove]

It is a rocky, windswept world, or so the skitter of rocks tell. But around Jetstorm nothing moves save him and Skydive.

Skydive lies smashed against the rocks, jet-body nearly ripped apart, limbs contorted from a forced transformation, back broken. He is terrified and defiant all at once, optics bright, mouth peeled back to aggressively expose his mandenta.

Jetstorm floats over him. Two heads dangle from his wing already, and there is space for two more yet. He has hardly begun the process.

One slice across the back of Skydive's neck with a high-powered, armor-cutting blade stilled the other jet forever. Not dead, but his motor relays severed completely.

Then, paying no never mind to what it would do to Skydive, Jetstorm carved open his chest to the lasercore. His moves were practiced, skilled - he had not done this merely twice before. He knows which lines he can safely cut, and which he dares not if he wants Skydive to remain in the land of the living.

There is still no magic at all involved in the process.

The memory-vision is tinged with Jetstorm's pain at what he did, but the remembered emotions are those of concentration and a very faint concern - that Slingshot might get away if he delays too long with Skydive.

He lays the armor-cutter aside, then commands his chest to open. The array another designed for him, the multiple laser-core hookpoints, make Skydive's optics brighten cataclysmically.

Jetstorm works smoothly as he ties Skydive's lasercore into his systems, beginnings of chaos-magic stirring down the wires between them.

Skydive's lasercore remains in his own chest for now as Jetstorm reaches for the armor-cutter again. He twists the handle, pulls it apart to reveal a wire of pure energy.

Chaos-magic floods into the memory, and now there is the impression that what is remembered is not exactly what happened. It is a little bit imaginary - not for Jetstorm, but for Auspex.

Jetstorm wraps the wire around Skydive's neck and pulls it tight. Underneath it, Skydive's neck purples as if he were an organic being strangled. Jetstorm speaks something, intones words foul and cruel, but they are indistinct to Auspex's senses. Only the tone comes through.

He pulls the garrote tighter and tighter until it slices through Skydive's neck and wires, decapitating the Aerialbot. At the moment of severance, a portion of Jetstorm's life-force enters Skydive's head, and a portion of Skydive's life-force enters Jettstorm's laser-core.

For a brief, horrifying moment, Skydive's optics darken.

Rapidly and again with too-practiced motions, Jetstorm splices Skydive's wires with the ones dangling from his wing, then mounts the head on his wing. As soon as the head is mounted, Skydive's optics brighten once more.

He screams as Jetstorm sets about installing the new lasercore in his chest.

[primus_seeress]

*Auspex hisses sharply, as soon as she gets the first visual image of Skydive. It is Primus's strength, and sheer force of will, that keeps her from immediately pulling away from Jetstorm. Her hand tightens on his shoulder, forbidding herself to let go, and perhaps for some small reassurance that what she is seeing is no longer reality, and the living material her hand is latched onto, is.

Auspex flinches once, and again with a shudder, as image-blade tears image-metal. She trembles at the implication that Jetstorm is practiced at this. She forces herself to pay close attention to what Jetstorm is doing with the wires, wincing, grip tightening again, at the feel of recalled chaos. A little whimper of horror escapes her vocalizer unbidden, as he recalls the removal of Skydive's head -- watching this is agonizing, but there is also the completely alien way it is done. This is not normal -- this screams of chaos, evil, all that she cannot tolerate. The dark Wrongness is almost stifling, even as only a memory.

For a moment, the nature of the memory seems to change, and grow less real, somehow; something is 'disconnecting' her slightly from Jetstorm's recollection. A slight brush from Primus's consciousness explains that... this knowledge is not something she should know, or even hear in passing; it would scar her. She is quite sure she didn't want to know, anyway. She returns a shakey, but greatful, acknowledgement.

Since the chaos began leeching in, she's noticed Jetstorm's gradual spiritual awareness of Skydive. It's... not his spark, not completely. Something between the spark and the body, a resonance somewhere between a free-spark and an embodied spark. This approach is not of Primus, or of Unicron -- this involves some other, foreign power. It's as though it's... sneaking in through a side door, to steal access to the forces that keep Skydive's body and spark alive. This is strange to her, this is Wrong...

She makes a small, strangled sound, as the chaos finally seizes hold of whatever-it-is of Skydive's living-ness.

It... feels like Skydive is dissolving, as though he is simply made of sculpted sand, that crumbles at a touch, breaking down into an indistinct pile of particles. Jetstorm's own life-being begins to soften somewhat, though it retains its 'shape'. Her instinct, as a protector of sparks, is to reach out to Skydive, and to some extent, Jetstorm: hold them together, bind them with truth and hope -- but it is only a memory, and she isn't sure she would know how to counter what is happening to them, even if it were reality. It has passed, nothing can be done.

She can only watch, frozen, seeing Jetstorm's brother diffuse and spread -- and, finally seperate to some extent. Jetstorm's life draws in a bit of energy from the other, exchanging it with a bit of its own essence, mixing inseperably into each living being, irrevocably... not without damage. She supresses a little sob of mourning, as the realization hits her. Nothing, nothing at all can be done?

Their energies seem to solidify somewhat, return to their former consistancy -- Jetstorm's returns virtually to normal, Skydive's... remains indistinct. She feels the individual 'tones' of strange energy that Jetstorm senses, well enough -- Jetstorm is here, Skydive is there -- but his being is tangled with his brother's in a way that is not a like a spark-bond, but some sort of fusion. It cannot be reversed, she cannot correct this... not without tearing at least one spark, destroying more than mending them. This also means that Skydive shares enough life-force with Jetstorm, that he will not survive without the other... none of his brothers will. They are all well and truly fused to Jetstorm. If he is damaged, if he dies... they all will. They are inseperable; What Jetstorm has learned, is a permanent process.

[primus_seeress]

She shudders violently at his brother's spark-rending scream. Finally, mercifully, this specific vision ends, and there is only Jetstorm's thoughts at this moment. Then even this fades, back to only the sense of his emotions, as Primus gently withdraws from Jetstorm's mind, returning to wrap around his servant's comfortingly. However... at this point, it is difficult to find anything soothing.

She gasps, optics lighting brightly, trembling, as she returns to normal awareness. She has a death-grip on Jetstorm's shoulder. She tries to speak, but all that will come is another little whimper, telling of her horror, terror, incredulity, pain, a touch of anger -- all at once. She shudders again, bringing a hand to her face, still refusing to let go of Jetstorm. She scoots forward a little to lean against the side of the berth, silently, drawing Primus's presence around her mind like a blanket. It becomes evident she will not speak for a several minutes, unless someone speaks to her first. She... feels the need to recover, first.

[attair_al_fada]

Starscream waits a few minutes for Auspex to get ahold of herself, but not long enough--he's not very patient right now. Perhaps he's nervous in his own way about the upcoming operation--and conceals it in his brusqueness and impatience with others.

"Well? What did you learn?" He places a hand on Auspex's arm. "Anything useful or important? Or even unimportant--you never know what's in the details."

[primus_seeress]

*She pauses a moment more, sensing his impatience, knowing why, but just a moment...*

*Auspex lowers the hand obscuring her face, optics flickering for a moment, until she finds her voice. Even then, it is very soft. She glances at the others, before blinking up at Starscream* The... process is not something I've seen before. It... involved more of the power that makes a spark live, than the spark itself; it seems almost as though it was not designed with sparks in mind. Unfortunately, it works well enough, anyway.

He... his brothers are fused to his life-power, Whatever it is, that the process was designed for. I... have no way of knowing where their sparks are. The sense of their life is diffused, spread between them and Jetstorm; it no longer comes from a specific point. And... *she pauses a moment, looking somewhat stricken* I have no way to correct it.

I can't seperate them; they are fused together in a way I can't counter, without damaging their sparks. Worse yet, because of this fusion... if one of them dies, the others will all live, but if Jetstorm dies... they all do. They are literally part of his life now. They've... somehow pratically transcended their sparks. They are there, I can reach them... but I can't extract them from the whole. There is nothing I can do for that.

*her voice wavers slightly. She wanted so badly to correct the entire problem, not simply providing the bodies for them; she is bitterly disappointed*

[doc_ratchet]

The CMO's expression is calmly thoughtful as he absorbs all this. It remains calmly thoughtful as he breaks away from them, moves over to the console he'd initially set up the quarantine security protocols on when this entire mess had started.

"I'm re-instating the security measures," he explains, suiting action to words. "And you and those Null rays of yours are going to be stuck here for the duration," he adds, nodding toward Starscream.

"To make certain sure that nothing can go wrong with this transfer, I'm thinking that each of your brothers is going to have to be transferred complete, which will require redundant stand-alone power systems and dual hooks ups to both your systems, Jetstorm, and their new body's. That's going to mean, essentially, laying you open utterly incapacitated and helpless, and, pardon me, but I'm none too keen on the thought of a certain Stunticon Commander catching wind of that situation and stopping by for a visit, since you two play so very nicely together."

He fixes them all with that utterly calm, confident CMO gaze, attention bouncing from Priestess to Starscream to Jetstorm, to each of his brothers in turn as they are addressed.

"Here's my thoughts on the matter, and I'd appreciate a sanity check from all and sundry. The sparks, I leave in your hands, Auspex. It's your realm, and your expertise. Starscream, I trust that with your particular insights in both engineering and esoterica, that you'll warn either of us if you see us about to do something exceptionally foolish," he explains.

It's not a request; Starscream may be the Air Commander, but Ratchet is the CMO, and Starscream is now acting under his auspices in his medbay, and Ratchet expects perfection from all of his tools. Including - especally - his staff.

"You, Starscream, are going to whip us up some independent power supplies, a battery capable of powering lasercore, head, and all associated systems on each of the brothers for a minimum of a couple of weeks. I don't want to take any chances here. While you are doing that, I will be installing a dual supply run from each body to the appropriate brother's systems. Once we start this, at all times, each of you will be connected not only to Jetstorm's systems and power supply, but also to the power supply and systems in your new bodies, and the independent power supply that Starscream will be fabricating. I'm not taking any chances on a random surge, especially not with your abilities, Jetstorm."

"And, as I said before, each of you is getting physically transferred complete, lasercore, head, and all attached systems, including Jetstorm's connections. It will mean a full dissection of all systems before we even initiate the transfer protocols. Only once you are safely settled and installed in your new body, and all systems have been double and triple checked by myself, Starscream, and Auspex, will I start severing physical connections with Jetstorm's systems."

He pauses in his explanation there, leveling probing looks at all of them in turn.

"Starscream, Auspex, Jetstorn, sanity check. Fireflight, Air Raid, Slingshot, Skydive, Jetstorm, confidence check and thoughts."