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| - Wednesday, July 27, 2011, 12:51 AM Image:Doac jpg.JPG Ratchet First Aid Perceptor (emitted by Discordia) Ratchet is reading a data pad. Perceptor comes striding in, glancing about "Ah, hello Ratchet. Is First Aid around?" First Aid looks up from where he's organizing materials in a berth side cart. "Hello Perceptor. Can I help you with something?" Ratchet looks up at the scientist and waves his hand toward First Aid. He continues reading. "Ah yes. I finished decrypting that new data you brought in from subject: Streetwise. It was easier this time now that we've had a few samples to work with." notes Perceptor "Really? Wonderful- can we take a look?" First Aid says. "I asked Streetwise if he'd mind when I took the scan- he said it was okay, as long as it was only things from before he met Vespa." "Of course. And yes, I put a marker at the end of these older memories to ensure we don’t go past it." notes Perceptor. Perceptor loads the disc into the computer to boot it up Ratchet drops his reading with a small rev and looks at the screen Perceptor's using. Perceptor smirks a little at the rev and brings the screen up, first listing individual files. He touches a few, highlighting some "These ones just contain code... That one is very similar to one I found in you, First Aid." he explains First Aid leans forward to look at the code. "... I have no idea what I'm looking at. What does it do?" Ratchet's optics narrow. "That's code for running a leg and pede," he says. "It's shut down codes. Same as yours. I am uncertain, but if it is linked then I am going to try putting it all together to see if it is like different letters in a word. " explains Perceptor "Let's play some memories, shall we? " He taps on one. A 'shaky' camera, two mechs running along it seems, towards a wall. A hand from the 'camera' reaches out and slaps the wall, a glimpse of a white, black and tan mech next to him "Hah! Almost there! Come on!" shouts Streetwise's voice, the other mech suddenly coming into view and running ahead, crossing the 'finish' line first. And then: "Why did you let me win? " "Because it makes you happy, and I like that." came Streetwise's reply. Perceptor blinks and looks at Ratchet, then looks at the code again as the video finishes "... so it is! But with different statistics and power numbers." First Aid tilts his head. "I had code for running an arm, though. That's... really odd, to say the least." He blinks at the memory. "I *think* that mech is the same one as in one of my memories, the one about playing some sort of game- the hands are right, anyway. It's not any of the others, at least." "Alpha said there were more than four," Ratchet murmurs. "There's a new one, at least." "Hrm. Well, First Aid, Hot Spot, Blades, Streetwise... So that must be the fifth. " concludes Perceptor. "Whoever he is. " The next video starts to play. Again, from Streetwises' optics, as though he was flat against a wall, he peered around, seeing Hot Spot just around the corner, back to him. Then the street mech leapt out, pointing a finger gun at the blue's back "Freeze, robber! This is the police! Hands up!" First Aid laughs outright. "Oh, I'm going to have to tease him about that...." Ratchet snorts. "He have anything more than a formative life of crime, Perceptor?" he asks. "Does he remember it? " Asks Perceptor, laughing a little bit himself at the shocked Hot Spot. Then he blinks at Ratchet "... Well, in this one he's the Police Officer, stopping the criminal Ratchet..." This time it was another clip, with First Aid on the screen across. Between them lay a 'dead' Blades, who had an arm thrown over his face and looked like he was merely tolerating the other mechs. Memory First Aid asks "Why do the victims always have to be dead when we play detective? " in a puzzled but also worried frown. "Why can't we find them alive so I can fix them? " Streetwise paused, then states "Okay, that makes sense. The books aren't ALWAYS the way it is, right?" First Aid says, "It seems like you've picked up more from when we were very young in this decryption." "It seems so. Then again it’s always a little random." admits Perceptor. "There's one more video though that's very close to the end. I think it’s the same as what you remember." A darker scene appears now, and footsteps. Then Streetwise stops "Wait... Hang on. Something’s' coming..." he is quiet, looking one way, then another. Other optics were lit up in the dark. "Run!" Then a terrible squeal, recognizable from the other clips of the last 'group memory' as Streetwise leaps to the wall and cover, diving into darkness. "Doesn't look quite like a play sequence that time," Ratchet says with a frown. "Might or might not be concurrent with what First Aid had in some of his memories." "What's the date stamp on that?" First Aid asks quietly. "No, it’s not play I think..." Perceptor agrees, and reads off the date stamp. The same as First Aids' memory of being attacked. The memory ends, and another one flicks up. Perceptor looks up, surprised. It was a board game, set in front of Streetwise as he stared at the pieces. Then he looks up, staring at a familiar, but wise old mech ".. I don’t see the move! I'm stuck! " "Its there. Keep thinking! " a frustrated sigh from Streetwise as he looks back down. Ratchet quirks an optic ridge and keeps watching. "That's Coruscate." First Aid says- in case anyone else has forgotten. He's watched the memories they recovered from his own decryption so many times that it's almost as if they've integrated normally into his primary partition. "The system must have just decrypted that one! " notes Perceptor. The video ends and Perceptor reads the numbers, tapping on the screen "It decrypted more than one! Here's one on Gyroscopic balancing data... for something very large with a lot of momentum!" "Why do we have all this code for outsized frames?" First Aid says with a hint of puzzlement in his voice. "Maybe they meant to upgrade us later or something, but... why? I mean, I know I always wanted to be a medic, and a really large frame just doesn't make sense for that..." Ratchet's optics narrow and he frowns. "How large, Perceptor?" Ratchet asks over an engine growl. "Well, logically you may have to carry patients of larger sizes back to base for more treatment, like what Ratchet does. " notes Perceptor "It is possible they put that in for possible upgrades too, you are all very small currently and cannot eve transform if I recall ri..." he blinks and looks up "one moment " he turns to run the numbers, tapping a few times "A rough estimation will be... Perceptor blinks a few times "Approximately one thousand Trixes. About the size of an Omega Class guardian in robot mode." "That's significantly larger than any medic would need to be to carry patients, even really large ones." First Aid says. Ratchet grunts. "Divide it. By five, perhaps," he says. "By five? " asks Perceptor, raising an optic brow as he runs the numbers again. "About the size of Commanders, such as Prime or ultra Magnus." "Might want to run those numbers again, with an optic toward variable subcomponent masses," Ratchet notes. "If you assume components of, say... Hot Spot's size or smaller, what do you get?" He nods. Then Perceptor blinks "oh! Wait!" he taps a few more times, and the bars shift. one larger, the other four smaller "There. Four the size of standard mechs, and one larger, if what you are thinking of Ratchet is what /I/ am computing." First Aid watches, fascinated, but doesn't have anything particular to contribute. "So. We've got extraneous limb code based on a mech of considerable size that would be roughly equivalent to our four mysterious mechs plus X, who happen to have extraneous connection anatomy documented in one case, and alternative transformation cog technology documented in two," Ratchet mutters. "I don't think this came from R&D next door, did it?" "What exactly are you suggesting, Ratchet?" First Aid says, fairly levelly. "Not OUR R&D." responds Perceptor as he taps at the screen, programs running "But wouldn’t they ALL have the alternative transformation cogs if that were the case?" Ratchet nods. "Stands to reason," he replies. He eyes First Aid. "Put it together, doctor," he says, equally levelly. "The rumors of such behemoths are legendary... Several wars were won - or lost- because of them. They were all shut down when the Golden Age began, retired and rebuilt willingly." explains Perceptor. First Aid looks dubious. "Behemoths? That just... that doesn't make sense." First Aid says. "Are you saying we're part of a combiner team? That's impossible. They're just stories!" "All stories have some sort of basis in truth, First Aid." notes Perceptor solemnly. Ratchet snorts. "If you've got a better interpretation, I'm waiting," he says. "But we don't even have alt-modes." First Aid says. "And we're not all alike- I thought the combiners were all of a type- they are in the stories." "Doesn't mean they *have* to be anything except built to connect to each other," Ratchet notes. "Don't even get me started on alt modes." "Its been many thousands of Vorns since the last Gestalts were designed. Its an entirely new mindset these days." remarks Perceptor "as for the Alt mode idea, I am not entirely sure." "Well... alright. If you're so sure, though- where do we go from here?" First Aid says. "What does it mean for us? And we need to tell Streetwise, Blades, and Hot Spot. As soon as possible."
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