Third Party - Prologue
Here's a first... a pre-credits sequence! Just like in sitcoms. No! Just like in Doctor Who! Headline Fics watches way too much BBC America. This particular pre-credits sequence inspired by Darkwoelf and Shewoelf (as they are known on the Allspark), creators of original characters Woelffen and Gaidin. The lyrics, if you are as old as or older than Headline Fics, you will recognize as being from Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)," written by Roger Waters. Transformers property of Hasbro. Everything owned by someone other than Headline Fics/newsy891 used for non-profitable entertainment purposes only.
Third Party
Prologue: Another Dent in the Wall
“What are you doing?” First Aid shouted.
Gaidin looked up from her work and shot First Aid a puzzled expression. “I’m welding.” She returned to her task, fusing two purposefully detached panels on a non-Sparked training model’s chestplate. “Something wrong?”
First Aid groaned. “Where do I -” he started to say, then thought better of it. “It’s a… fair effort, Gaidin,” he said more diplomatically. “But I’d like to see you pay a little more attention to the look of the seal - you’re creating a visible scar, and a visible scar is an indication of a weak point to an enemy. And… did you sterilize your equipment before you started the operation?”
Gaidin’s welder showed obvious splattery signs of not having been sterilized before the operation. “Huh?”
“Sterilization is not optional,” First Aid explained as patiently as he could. “Transfer of foreign metal and fluids can lead to internal corrosion, shutdowns of vital systems -”
“All right, boss,” Gaidin cut off her trainer mid-sentence. “I get it.” She backed away from the table and carried her welder to a decontamination point. “Lemme try it again.”
As much frustration as he felt with Gaidin’s lack of technical knowledge, First Aid had to admit some admiration for her willingness to improve herself. She was game to try anything once - or, as it turned out, dozens of times. First Aid ripped the training model’s chestplate apart for the fourth time that session. “Of course you’re trying it again,” he said warmly. “You’ll have as many practice runs as -”
The physician’s words were interrupted by a droning tune emanating from Gaidin’s internal audio system, the first words of which contradicted the eager student’s attitude: “We don’t need no education… we don’t need no thought control…”
“What is that noise?” First Aid asked, raising his voice over the melody.
“Woelffen calls it Pink Floyd,” Gaidin casually explained while sterilizing her welder. “Helps me concentrate.”
“It does the opposite for me,” First Aid muttered.
“What?” Gaidin called over her shoulder, the sterilization nearly complete.
First Aid repeated at a higher volume, “It does the opposite for me!”
Gaidin moved to set her welder down and turn off the music, but Jazz, fresh from a routine tune-up at the hands of Perceptor, stopped and noted the sound. “Hey - I love this one!” he called to Gaidin, then joined with the recorded voices: “All in all it’s just another brick in the wall…”
Gaidin smiled as broadly as anyone had ever seen her smile and sang along, less tunefully than Jazz but just as loudly: “All in all it’s just another brick in the wall…”
Jazz noticed the tension in First Aid’s circuits and poked the medic in the shoulder. “Never seen you with the urge-to-kill-rising look before, Aid,” he snickered before turning almost serious. “Let her keep the music. If it makes her a better medic, it’s worth it, right?”
First Aid’s helm met the nearest wall with a dull thunk as his patience finally left him. “Primus help me, I will disassemble her.”
To be continued...
Third Party
Prologue: Another Dent in the Wall
“What are you doing?” First Aid shouted.
Gaidin looked up from her work and shot First Aid a puzzled expression. “I’m welding.” She returned to her task, fusing two purposefully detached panels on a non-Sparked training model’s chestplate. “Something wrong?”
First Aid groaned. “Where do I -” he started to say, then thought better of it. “It’s a… fair effort, Gaidin,” he said more diplomatically. “But I’d like to see you pay a little more attention to the look of the seal - you’re creating a visible scar, and a visible scar is an indication of a weak point to an enemy. And… did you sterilize your equipment before you started the operation?”
Gaidin’s welder showed obvious splattery signs of not having been sterilized before the operation. “Huh?”
“Sterilization is not optional,” First Aid explained as patiently as he could. “Transfer of foreign metal and fluids can lead to internal corrosion, shutdowns of vital systems -”
“All right, boss,” Gaidin cut off her trainer mid-sentence. “I get it.” She backed away from the table and carried her welder to a decontamination point. “Lemme try it again.”
As much frustration as he felt with Gaidin’s lack of technical knowledge, First Aid had to admit some admiration for her willingness to improve herself. She was game to try anything once - or, as it turned out, dozens of times. First Aid ripped the training model’s chestplate apart for the fourth time that session. “Of course you’re trying it again,” he said warmly. “You’ll have as many practice runs as -”
The physician’s words were interrupted by a droning tune emanating from Gaidin’s internal audio system, the first words of which contradicted the eager student’s attitude: “We don’t need no education… we don’t need no thought control…”
“What is that noise?” First Aid asked, raising his voice over the melody.
“Woelffen calls it Pink Floyd,” Gaidin casually explained while sterilizing her welder. “Helps me concentrate.”
“It does the opposite for me,” First Aid muttered.
“What?” Gaidin called over her shoulder, the sterilization nearly complete.
First Aid repeated at a higher volume, “It does the opposite for me!”
Gaidin moved to set her welder down and turn off the music, but Jazz, fresh from a routine tune-up at the hands of Perceptor, stopped and noted the sound. “Hey - I love this one!” he called to Gaidin, then joined with the recorded voices: “All in all it’s just another brick in the wall…”
Gaidin smiled as broadly as anyone had ever seen her smile and sang along, less tunefully than Jazz but just as loudly: “All in all it’s just another brick in the wall…”
Jazz noticed the tension in First Aid’s circuits and poked the medic in the shoulder. “Never seen you with the urge-to-kill-rising look before, Aid,” he snickered before turning almost serious. “Let her keep the music. If it makes her a better medic, it’s worth it, right?”
First Aid’s helm met the nearest wall with a dull thunk as his patience finally left him. “Primus help me, I will disassemble her.”
To be continued...