“Megatron, on board the Lost Light? On board me? Megatron?” sputtered Rodimus. He rebooted his holoform’s audial sensors a few times, just to ensure he was hearing Ratchet correctly.
“It was either you or Metroplex,” said Ratchet. He was still staring at the new “Rodpod” in the hangar, aghast.
“What, did Metroplex say no already?”
Ratchet sighed. “We can lock him up if he steps out of line. But Prime wants to give him a bit of rope, and some responsibility, to see if he’s really on the level.”
“He wants Megatron running loose in me? Not even in my brig?”
“Well, we’re not going to tell him about your ‘condition.’ Like most of the crew, he’ll just think you’re a neutral that avoided the whole war and didn’t want to return to Cybertron.”
“Ah yes. Megatron: famous for getting along with neutrals,” He pointed at Ratchet, “I’ve heard stories from Drift, you know.”
“And if anything, Drift probably toned down those stories. Still, as a precaution, we’re dosing him with Fool’s Energon.”
Rodimus fumed, crossing his arms.
Ratchet sighed, “Look, nobody’s going to make you bring along anyone you don’t want along. Especially after the debacle with Prowl.”
Rodimus winced, “About that. Could I get some advice?”
“Oh, Primus, you don’t have someone else locked up, do you? Who is it, Killmaster?
“No! Nothing like that, it’s just- here, take this.” Rodimus materialized a datapad and handed it to Ratchet.
Ratchet looked at it and frowned, “Is this from the ‘anonymous’ vote you took to see who wanted you removed as captain? I see there’s a list of names attached.”
“Well,” Rodimus scratched the back of his head. “I was thinking of using it to see who to kick off the mission, but…”
“But you realized that would be petty, especially since most of the crew doesn’t even know that would be possible.”
“Pretty much.”
“If I were Ultra Magnus, I’d be reminding you that Cybertronian laws still apply to you, even though you’re not an Autobot.”
“And trying to coerce me into another lecture.”
“Coerce,” Ratchet scoffed. “He’s been nothing but soft with you.”
Rodimus made a face.
“I’m serious. Ask one of the wreckers if you don’t believe me. Besides, this list is wrong.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m not on it.”
“You voted against-” Rodimus sputtered, “But you know that’s impossible!”
“You can’t leave the ship,” Ratchet shook his head. “But, you need to listen to Ultra Magnus’ advice more. He’s not going to make you do anything, but if he tells you to do something, you should still do it. Ancient titan or not, you’ve only got the memories- and personality- of a new spark. I know you’re excited about going wherever you’d like, but you can learn a lot from following someone else for once.”
“Fine. I’ll try and listen more. And if Ultra Magnus wants me to help Autobots, then I guess I can bring along Megatron. I’m still captain, though.” Rodimus leaned against the railing. He froze. “Wait, what did you mean by Optimus giving Megatron more responsibility?”
“Well,” said Ratchet. “I suppose nobody would ever accuse Megatron of being soft-”
***
(For context, I'm thinking Ultra Magnus was sent along as a mentor a la TFA or to see if he'd be a suitable cityspeaker. However, he feels too awkward to order around someone who hasn't been able to make their own choices for millions of years and isn't an "official" autobot, either.)
Oh, I love ALL of this. Ultra Magnus as a potential cityspeaker and being soft on Rodimus is lovely. Especially given the fact Rodimus isn't an Autobot plus Magnus isn't exactly being open about his identity as well. All on top of the fact Rodimus has only had free will for maybe a thousand years so he's sensitive about any authority he didn't specifically select.
Ratchet and Rodimus's relationship is fun!
The use of the holoform is perfect and the fact it is a secret from the crew is 100/100. You perfectly captured the vibes I have for this AU.
