Shockwave's Laboratory

"This ship has plenty of the resources we would need to reconstruct a new leg," he says aloud, directing his voice to Shockwave. "So do you think that would be the better course of action? Amputate and replace?"

Honestly, Ratchet felt that with this new information it might be easier. Steadily repairing the existing leg piece by piece would be far too time consuming, and be much too difficult. Manufacturing a new leg and connecting it quickly would take much less time thanks to The Nemesis’ plentiful resources.

The medic pauses for a second and imagines how much easier the Autobots lives would have been if they had everything the Decepticons did. Maybe if they had what was on the Nemesis, Ratchet would have had an easier time bringing Optimus back from the brink of death.

Scanning the Nemesis' perfectly organized databanks (all credit due Soundwave), Shockwave locates Knock Out's frame specs and prunes the information to the bare necessities before forwarding the condensed information to Ratchet.

"I recommend we continue in the medical ward," he unplugs himself before shifting away from the berth, "Knock Out is stable enough to be moved, but he will require heavy sedation before we can safely remove the limb entirely."

For Ratchet's safety, Shockwave intends to be the one smelting and reforging Knock Out's struts. The Autobot will no doubt appreciate  spending so much time with the Decepticon's medic, it being an unparalleled opportunity to develop a close bond that will aid the peace process.

Then the Prime went still and stared at nothing his sight could see; instead, he was looking within Megatron’s spark, and finally… after their time together he had come to terms with the truth bespoken by his brother.

Nothing had and never would happen between Megatron and Starscream that could compare with what they held. There was none of the intimacy rumored behind the enemy lines, or the twisted sexual tension the Autobots mocked.

There was nothing, and it came Optimus peace at spark. Yet, he found a pending rage at how repeated attempted continued to try and coax a confession out of Megatron. He could sense a possessiveness that the warlord was usually alone to display.

Prime began to enter in a command that would broadcast on the public forums utilized by the humans. Perhaps these anonymous would see as well, and he knew that the Autobots would likely find out.

The transmission was acrossed across open bandwidths, which carried along a datastream his resonate voice with a vibrant clarity. This means was chosen that it might be heard, rather than fall to ignorant silence. 

Right as the initial note of his voice began it’s tempoed beat, it was intermixed with a faded growl of both his vocoder and his engine — audible through the commlink’s establishment.

{{ Megatron has and never will share any intimacy with Starscream, nor had he ever harbored a desire, no matter how deeply-seated. }}

{{ He is bonded, with me. He is the Protector of Cybertron and I am the Prime. I vouch for his honesty. }}

He glanced to sibling-protector, who had turned away from his project to listen momentarily, before clearly dismissing the message despite it regarding the Hive-Queen! The insecticon gave a quiet cheep of distress at such obvious disrespect, he didn't want sibling-protector to be consumed!

--

Shockwave, on the other hand, had not completely dismissed the revelation. He turned back to the restrained scraplet, partially sedated so that the fragile filaments attached to various points on its tiny frame would not be damaged by sudden movement.

He'd set several low-tier processors to analyzing the wider repercussions of the relationship; primarily in regards to the future of Cybertron, but not exclusively. 

He connects Knock Out to the intravenous line, watching as the fresh Energon begins to enter his systems. Two problems have been tackled, but there are more to go.

The Autobot moves back to his patient, observing the leg briefly before repositioning it to get a better view of the back joints. Ratchet bites down on his glossa and squints. A majority of the disconnected cables are unsalvageable, which complicates things.

"Shockwave, I am going to need your help in repairing his leg. His joints are practically destroyed," Ratchet says, looking up at the Decepticon.

"I have disconnected sensory feedback from the affected area. What method do you intend to employ to repair the limb?" Shockwave favors amputating the damaged area and using existing frame-specs to reconstruct a replacement, but he is also aware that the Autobots do not have access to the appropriate equipment and materials for such a task and might not even realize it is an option. 

There is no doubt that this will be a considerable project to undertake, only made worse if Knock Out's narcissism is coddled. His heavily modified frame is enough of a challenge already, but at least the damaged limb can be recycled to recover the necessary materials.

It was an understatement to say he was excited.

Ratchet nodded his affirmation to the Decepticon. “I believe that everything is in order, Shockwave. The berth has been prepared, there is an intravenous line prepped, and it shouldn’t be too hard to stabilize him for life outside of the pod.” He turned towards the scientist and studied him for a moment.

A strange feeling overcame the medic. Shockwave, as unsettling as he may be, was an interesting companion over the past cycles. The very muted conversations they had shed light on some ideas that the scientist had, and Ratchet could no longer deny his brilliance.

Maybe, over time, Ratchet could call Shockwave a friend.

The smell of stale air, dust, and soured energon taints the lab's filtered atmosphere as the pod wheezes open, revealing Knock Out's heavily damaged frame. One of the mech's legs has been near amputated through severe crush-damage, only a few wires and pinched lines secure it to the rest of his frame.

That appears to be the worst of the damage, fortunately. Scuffed and dented and dusty, but mostly intact. Remarkable.

Shockwave kneels and quickly pinches shut any pierced cabling in Knock Out's damaged leg, a temporary safe-guard until Ratchet can operate. The leg appears unsalvageable, but he intends to see how the Autobot will respond to such an injury. If he can repair the limb to full functionality rather than replace it...

Knock Out gives a quiet, hoarse groan as he works, but does not otherwise protest. His systems aren't active yet, but Shockwave can sense him trying to reboot, stymied by the multiple error messages his autonomic systems are no doubt sending him.