| abstract
| - Robustus got a recharge in while waiting for Goa to return back with the laser core and the containment unit. Once the grounder arrived, he was notified and spent a good part of several cycles making sure the laser core had no flaws in it. Another couple cycles went to making sure the containment unit was also undamaged and warmed up for the upcoming procedure. This accomplished, he made sure the area was sanitized then prepped for his patient. Tools are all neatly laid out, they too have been sanitized. The medic left nothing to chance, he wanted to be certain that this would go as smoothly as he could possibly make it. Now all he needed was the patient herself. Shred has been in the med bay the whole time, reviewing her memory files that were recovered. Robustus need not wait on her account. However, it might be best to wait until help arrives to ensure the success of the operation. Indeed, she looks to Robustus now from her desk, and it is clear that she is honestly afraid. Goa isn't help. Far from it. But he does have a bit of an investment in this going well ... not to mention his own reputation in shipping the relevant parts. If he could get more assignments like that, maybe this whole grunt thing wouldn't be so bad. "Shredder?" He peeks around the bay further, "Robustus? Didn't jostle that thing too bad, did I?" Robustus looks over with a smile toward Goa, unlike Shred the medic is exuding confidence. "Ah Goa, all is well with the laser core and containment unit. Thank you for picking them up for me. I shall have to owe you a drink or a credit." he remarks, then pauses, "Has anyone been able to reach the other medic?" Shred hmms, "I think Psykeout is coming, he should not be too long, Robustus. " she still has a hint of uncertainty in her voice though, perhaps understandably, her doubts are about the operation as a whole. Goa smiles sheepishly. "Jes' consider the drink I owed you repaid." He takes a few paces in to lean on the back of Shred's chair. On the mention of Psykeout, he looks over his shoulder suddenly. "And good to hear, Robby. I toldja I knew my stuff." Peeking down from his viewpoint at Shred, he almost whispers, "How you holdin' up?" Both his antennae are held forward inquisitively. It's not hard to pick up on Shred's nerves. Robustus inclines his head, "Good." he moves over to the sanitizer basin, putting a clean new rag into it, then using it to sanitize his hands thoroughly. He also gets part of his forearms as well. A nod given to the grounder about the drink. "So Goa are you going to watch the proceedings?" he inquires. Shred looks at Goa, and she sighs, "Honest to primus truth, Goa, I'm terrified. This operation.. Well.. if even the tiniest mistake is made, I'm dead." Goa reaches down to tap her on the shoulder. "And if you don't try, you're dead anyway. You'll be fine, you're too crazy to go offline." With a grin, as if to clarify the last jab as in good humor, he turns to Robustus. "Course I am. You think it's easy for me to fly up here?" Psykeout walks through the door, almost on cue. His optics are flickering softly, his mouth pursed tight. He knows exactly what this is about and is determined to make sure that nothing goes wrong. As soon as he walks through the door, he hears Shred's voice. Even with the vocoder replacement, he has the opportunity to change his voice, but Psykeout knows that now is not the time for jokes. "...tiniest mistake is made, I'm dead." A smile teases on his lips, "I'll make sure that there isn't a mistake, Shred." He moves towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder and looking up to Robustus, "All right...where are we?" Robustus looks to Shred, face softening a bit, "Would it help to do a prayer before you go under Shred?" he asks. Then he hms to Goa, "Try climbing sometime, I had to do that to get up to the airstrip." he notes, then he looks toward Psykeout, "Ah this must be Psykeout?" he inquires. "We will make sure there are no mistakes. I've a reputation to uphold, not lost a patient in all my cycles of practice." Shred nods, and she jets up to the table, laying down, "I know.. See you in a few cycles.... Good luck.. I'll need it." Goa's optics flicker at Psykeout. He's clearly surprised the medic had the cajones to walk up so close to him ... but hey, whatever. This'd be interesting. "I don't think the constructicons'd take too kindly to me punching holes all up the wind shaft." He smirks and follows Shred over, taking up a position reasonably out of the way, but still close enough to watch. Glancing at Robustus ... he makes a note in his database to ask him about prayer at some point. Huh. Psykeout hangs his head and looks over to Robustus, "Indeed. It is me, but let us save the introductions for a time that's not as...temperamental? I can help you with whatever you need...I am just as well-trained as yourself. But, I want to make sure that I don't get in your way, though...every medic works differently." Robustus chuckles softly to Goa's comment, "Holes can be repaired, Goa." then he moves over to the medical table. "Worry not Shred, all will be well." he states in firm confidence, a pat given to her shoulder, then he looks over to Psykeout. "Thank you for stating such, do not worry, I shall be clear as to what I need during this procedure. Have you had any training in it?" he asks. Shred's optics shut off as she deactivates herself so that Robustus and Psykeout can get on with the operation. Goa stands up a bit straighter, clasping his hands against his back plate. He looks a little groggy, his optics hazed in concentration observing what both medics are doing. Psykeout nods solemnly, "I have performed a core removal in the past. But, not this...precise. The way that I have done it in the past has been rather, forcefully. I remember doing it on a mech that was already offline, but...never on one that was going to actually receive a new one." He is obviously shaken up. Finally managed to open up to someone and now there's a chance that they're going to die. So many chances for things to go wrong. So many chances for him to lose the one thing that actually means something. He takes slow, deliberate steps towards Shred, if only to provide her comfort while she is deactivated. Robustus resantizes the hand he used to pat Shred's shoulder then presses on the chest plate to make it pop up, this is slide off and set off to the side. Inside is the laser core, shielded by a casing. He picks up the magnetized screwdriver, using it to remove the tiny screws that surround the casing. "Ah good, glad to know you know how to deal with them then. If you would sanitize your hands please." he instructs, now carefully removing the casing since the screws are all removed and set off to the side. Shred lays there, and as the casing is removed from her laser core, it's battered crystalline form is clearly visible for all to see.. and since just yesterday there's already another large crack in it.. The stress on learning of the danger has accelerated the degradation. ! Psykeout brushes his hand across the side of Shred's helmet and then goes off to sanitize his hands. A few moments later, he arrives next to Robustus again, obviously a little different. The emotions have been drained from him. He's not here as a friend, at least for now. He's here as a medic. Sidling up next to Robustus, he looks down at the core and there is a sharp intake of breath, "It looks worse than I originally thought. Goa's features rise slightly. He knows how a laser core is supposed to look, and that isn't it. His arms slowly shift to cross over his chest ... but he knows better than to speak. Robustus takes a step over to the containment unit to make sure it’s ready to receive Shred's spark, then pushes it as close as he can to the table. He resanitizes his hands again, "Okay Psykeout, this will take both our hands to do this. We will have to be very careful, purposefully slow." he states. The mech is all business, tone serious, but not grave. He still exudes confidence despite what is about to happen. "Yes, it has changed since I worked on her last cycle. It is good we are doing this now." he says, moving toward Shred's head. Psykeout nods solemnly and follows Robustus' every movement as they begin to remove the core. Robustus takes a moment, murmuring a prayer meant for medics, "Dear Primus.. give me the guidance and knowledge, to do my duty to the fullest. Guide my hands as you guide my spark. Keep them steady, let my mind recall all the lessons of my craft. Give me inspiration. Open my optics to all possibilities. Carry me through any faltering oh Primus. Assure me that your will is done through my hands, my mind, my spark." then he nods to Psykeout. "Let's do this. Follow my hands exactly." he states, his legs are shifted with firm footing, he squares his shoulders then lowers his hands against the side of her chest wall, his long dexterous fingers sliding down at 10 and 7. Psyke's hands would be at 2 and 5, making a four way cradle. "Tips of the fingers at the outer edge of the center of the core." Psykeout does exactly as he's told, following exactly. Goa starts to ignore Robustus, focusing the reappearing points of his optics on Psykeout. Shred trusted him, certainly. He wasn't certain he trusted either of them ... and this would be all too convenient, were Psykeout to try the most minute sleight of hand. He keeps his motors cool, though, only shifting with a slight sigh -- whether he liked it or not, Shred /did/ trust him. This was in her hands. Shred's core flickers, going momentarily dark! Robustus freezes, watching the core. "Wait." he says, looking for it to steady itself. His hands are rock solid and steady, not a tremble to be seen. Shred's core does steady itself, but the crack is worsening. Psykeout freezes, just as he's told to. Staring at the core, he sees Goa staring at him out of the corner of his optic. A momentary pause in Psykeout's thought process. His hands are steady. Unmoving. He knows exactly what this means. He turns to Goa and a smirk appears at the corner of his lips, but only for a split-second. If Goa were to look away, he would most likely miss it. But, there is the chance that he /did/ catch the smirk, for it's gone as quickly as it arrived and Psykeout is intently staring at the core once again. Goa's optics flare red when Psykeout turns away. This was not the time to let his buttons be pushed. His antennae twitch slightly, but he does not budge. Any movement on his part -- the heavy footfall, the distraction -- had a chance of being fatal for Shred. He hadn't let minute chances go unrecognized earlier. But ... best to keep the optic on the ball. He turns his glare to Shred's core instead. Robustus nods, "Slowly straight up." he says, edging his side of the core upwards carefully, steadily. "Good, just like that Psykeout." he slides a foot then the other over, shifting his body carefully around the table so his hip goes flush with the containment unit. Once the core is clear of Shred's chest, it’s a short trip to the unit itself. "Steady now, easy." Psykeout moves as steadily and slowly as Robustus, watching his every move and making sure to move in just the same way as Robustus does. However, there is a split second when Psykeout only has one hand on the unit. Less than half a second later, his hand was back. But, there was something slipped in the palm of his hand. Pressed against Shred's core. Only someone with needlepoint vision could catch it, but it's there, nonetheless. Goa trains his optics more closely on what Psykeout is doing. Oh, and what he /is/ doing... Goa's wrapped up enough in his own processor, he can see it, but not give any immediate indication that he did. Robustus wouldn't have reason to watch for any sort of trickery out of the fellow medic. Though he does notice the slight shift from the hand movement. He snaps his head up, silver optics burning holes into Psykeout. "Don't do that again." his voice terse, tight. Psykeout nods solemnly, "Understood, Robustus. I apologize. A screw was loose on my side and it was rather uncomfortable." He drops his head back to the core and walks it the short distance to the containment unit. Now that he's separated by a bit more distance, Goa allows himself to shift backwards on his wheels. He continues eyeing Psykeout ... with pure suspicion. In the glow, he couldn't see precisely what happened. He had to give him the benefit of the doubt right now. Robustus frowns at the other medic, the core probably has a even bigger crack now thanks to that move. Finally though the core is settled into the unit and he makes sure it is supporting it before the next step. "No excuse." he notes firmly, "Could have lost her right then and there. Could you live with yourself?" he asks. Once he is assured the core is all right, he can turn his attention to putting in the new laser core. Psykeout looks to Robustus, then back to the core and shakes his head. He says nothing. Does nothing else. Just stands there like a scolded child. Robustus sighs and picks up the new core carefully, "Chin up, Psykeout." states in a more friendly tone, "Admonish yourself later. I need you to hand me the tools I'll need." he furthers. The core is slowly and meticulously slide down into Shred's chest cavity until it comes to rest against the framework that cradles it into place. Shred's core, well, the one in the containment chamber, something odd is happening, the thing Psyke slipped up against it, is melding into the crack. Goa skates slowly, unthreateningly around Shred's table to look down into the containment chamber. Scanning. Psykeout nods solemnly again, then watches Robustus' movements and casting a glance towards Shred's core. It was moving quickly, but it would hopefully take some time before something actually happened. Psykeout looks back to Robustus and is eager to get this show on the road. Psykeout puts his hand on Shred's shoulder and smiles, "Just a little while longer. I know you can't hear me, but..." He drifts off, catching himself actually feeling emotional for a moment. Shaking his head, he pulls his hand away and stands up straight. Robustus looks to Psykeout, "Hand me the tongs first, then light up the welder and set it to point 0035 diameter at 500 centigrade, then give that to me." Psykeout does as he's told. Goa wheels backwards, quickly out of the way. He gives Psykeout's tone a sort of quizzical look, then resumes his frozen posture. Shred pages: any damage caused by the crystal will be so minor it can also be easily written off as trauma from having had to undergo this. Robustus takes the tongs, using them to snag a lead wire and place it into a slot that will have it hook into the core. Then taking the welder, a visor drops down from the peaked forehead of his helm over his optics. A few touches it all it takes to secure the wire into place. This is repeated several more times as other lead wires are welded into place. This will allow the core to be grounded as well as to receive electrical input from corresponding boards and such. Next is a energon line feed, slipping that carefully into a hole meant for it then using the welder to sauter it into place. Psykeout looks down at Shred, his optics flickering softly. There's so much that could go wrong. So many things that could explode. So much trust...eradicated because of something as stupid as a crystal. He moves his attention back to Robustus and watches his every movement, keeping everything in mind that he does. Everything has been by the book and there really hasn't been any reason for Psykeout to involve himself, other than giving the tools that he's been asked to give. Robustus raises up the visor, "Take these." giving Psykeout the welder and tongs back. He moves to snag a transfer cable that is part of the unit and plugs it in, then feeds it over to Shred's open chest. The end of it is slipped carefully through the center hole of the core. "Okay, now comes the next hard part." he states. Psykeout takes the welder and tongs, then puts them on the table next to the old core. Shred's old core glows softly, faintly sparking in the containment unit with her spark. Goa leans forward for another peering scan before Robustus and Psyke get around to moving Shred ... rolling over and over in his head, debating whether to bring up what he saw. No ... no, it could just be part of the other damage. He was paranoid, he knew that much. Robustus moves back to the unit, checking on the core to see how it is holding up and if its stable enough for the transfer itself. "Advert your optics, this will get bright and may burn into the optical array." he states to you both in caution. He taps a few buttons on the machine, which roars to life. There's a glow around the cable itself that crawls down its length then slowly the other core begins to glow itself. The medic observes the readings to keep his own optics from being harmed by the bright glow. Basically the machine is transferring her old laser core's pattern and energy into the new one. Psykeout closes his optics and...well...stands there. Goa's optic lenses flip through a few shades until they're a neat, glossy black. He doesn't miss a beat. Shred's core programming is transferred into the new laser core, ready to receive her spark. Psykeout opens an optic slightly, eyeing the spark. Right now, it would be so easy. It would be so easy to brush the side of the jar and push it to the ground. But, what good would that do? What would he gain from that, besides losing one of the only fellow Decepticons that he actually cared about. Instead, he shut his optic once again and waited for Robustus' word. Robustus relowers his visor, which protects his sight for this next and most crucial step. The spark extractor is picked up, the grips slipped into place and cramped firmly in place. Then with a steady hand he lowers the extractor into the core itself, going by sight and a bit by feel and watching for sign of any issue until the spark is settled into place. Slowly he edges it up out of the core, turning carefully, then gently down into the new core. Shred's spark is removed, flaring violently as Robustus carries it across to her body, and the new core.. The old laser core however still retains the faint glow of energon. Goa rubs one hand in his other, glancing at Psykeout, then at Robustus uneasily. Psykeout feels his hand around, looking blindly for the now-empty core. His optics are still shut due to the bright light that fills the room. Once his hand wraps around the core, he pulls it towards him. Never know when an empty core will come in handy... Robustus feels the spark take hold in its new location and retracts the extractor out of there. The last of the programming flows into the core itself and the machine beeps that it's done. "Okay, you can look now." he says, visor raising up. Setting the tool aside, he moves to pull the cable carefully away from the center hole of the core. Goa picks up the fuzzy motion, and he slowly turns his nose to point at Psykeout. He lowly growls, "Can't you wait?" An uncharacteristically intense frown defines the mech's faceplate. On that note, his optics return to their rusty glow. Shred remains quite still, her spark settling into her new core. So far so good, the difficult and dangerous part is over. Psykeout casts a look over his shoulder towards Goa, an evil stare. But, it was only present for a second. He snapped his head back around and put his hand on Shred's shoulder, waiting for her to wake up. Waiting to see her smile once again. He looks over to Robustus and smiles faintly, "Excellent job. I am rather impressed and can't thank you enough...I'm glad that I could help, as little as I did." Shred will wake when she is closed up and reactivated Robustus is observing the core and spark, looking for any sign of rejection or other issues as they spark assimilates to its new environment. "Thank you, but let's wait a few moments to celebrate. I wish to be certain all is well before reactivation." Psykeout nods solemnly. Shred seems to be showing no signs of rejection, maybe it's slightly brighter than you might expect.. Goa sighs. No, of course he can't. He wheels over to lean at the foot of the minicon's table as well... his thanks takes the simple form of a soft smile toward Robustus. Then he continues eyeing Psykeout and the mangled laser core he's so eagerly acquired. Why now? Why so soon? Just to be antagonizing? Robustus may just well be counting the moments, just a part of the routine for this procedure. Then he carefully picks up her helm with one hand, sliding his other hand under her neck, then slipping his fingers in between the helm and the neck to depress the button buried within. This would reactivate her. "And what do you plan to do with the old core Psykeout?" he asks, having not missed the fact he had glommed onto it. Shred's optics flare brightly.. then go right out again, not starting right back up as you would expect.. Psykeout catches Goa's glance, then looks over to Robustus, "Well, I wanted to see if there isn't some sort of reinforcement that we can do to keep something like this from happening again. Also, I would like to practice the same surgery that you just did. I figure if I can find an off-line mech, not that hard to do in the Dead End area, I can practice...You know, in case something like this happens again." He looks down to Shred as her optics flare brightly and a frown appears on his lips, "Robustus, that's not...normal." Robustus hmms to that, "Very well, but you need to put it into her medical file that you took the old core into your own possession." then he picks up the scanner to check the readings, "Give it a moment." Goa's look at Psykeout is no less skeptical, up until the point Shred seems to botch her boot sequence -- he looks straight at the minicon. "What's wrong with her?" Shred's optics flare up again as her systems do now come online, one after another, slowly, as if booting up for the first time ever.. Robustus ahs, "There we go, just a slight lag time. The energon had to pump into the new core to power it up is all." Goa's shoulder tires slump. He didn't even realize the suspension was that tensed-up. "Makes sense," he mumbles. Psykeout snaps his attention back to Shred, waiting for her to finish booting up. His optics flicker softly and he has a smile pasted on his face. A real smile, actually. Like he's actually happy to see Shred coming back online and everything ended up okay in the end. All of the work and the worrying, for it all to come out on the other side just fine. Shred's mouth opens, and what comes from her vocoder is a garbled shriek. Psykeout leans forward, scanning the vocoder and looking back up to Robustus, "Looks to be okay. Should kick in normally in a moment. Goa's antennae click back into his helmet and he dims his optics. Bad sound. The medics'd slagging well better be right. Shred's optics blink off again, a soft 'beep' can be heard from her cerebral circuits Robustus watches on quietly, not seeming to be concerned with the shriek. "Indeed." he agrees. Psykeout stands up and watches silently, waiting for everything to come back to normal...as long as it takes. Shred's optics light up again, and she sits bolt upright.. "I.. I'm.. alive?" Psykeout snaps back, the smile still on his face, "Yes, Shred. Yes...you are." Robustus puts his hands on her shoulders, "You are." he says, "Now take it easy, access the core through your neural circuits and run a diagnostic for me." Goa raises his head, a look of mild ... surprise on his face. Let's see how long this lasts. "Make sure she remembers everything." Shred nods faintly, and her optics go dull as she attempts to access the core.. "I seem to be working within acceptable parameters.. but my spark HURTS." Psykeout nods, "I would imagine so, Shred. It's brand new. It's going to take some getting used to. Shred says, "I want to take a look at my old core. See what the damage was like" Psykeout holds it out for her to see. Robustus frowns to this, passing the scanner over her still open chest to check for an anomaly. "Shouldn't hurt." Shred reaches out to take a hold of the core, the crystalline matrix of it is still displaying the faint energon glow, as well as the damage to it, "Sweet Primus, maker of us all.. It's a miracle I'm alive..." "Just ride it out," Goa mumbles. He glances over at the old core, getting a good look at it, as well. She seemed to remember the immediate past, if nothing else. That was a relief. Psykeout nods, staring at her holding the core, then he looks over to Robustus, "A new core /can/ hurt, Robustus. It has been documented that these things happen from time to time." Shred hmms, and she looks to Robustus, "Is this glow normal, from a laser core, or is it part of the damage? Robustus hmms, "Slightly higher readings." he remarks, then looks up from the scanner, "But I believe it will fade." Robustus then answers Shred, "Possibly damage." Goa sidles up to Robustus, motioning for the scanner. "Can I see that?" Shred hmms, and she nods, "Ok.. Now that's scary, looks almost like energon.. " Psykeout arches an optic ridge, then looks from Shred to Robustus to Goa. So much going on and everybody is so worried about her. Just a few nanocycles alone. That's all he wants. But, to try and rush something like that would be obvious. So, instead, he takes a few steps back and watches her handle the old core. He has to leave with it. Has to have it. The things he could do with an old core... Robustus offers Goa the scanner, he moves over to examine the old core as well. "It's normal for a bit to be left over Shred, I wouldn't worry overly about it." he states. Goa looks over what's already there ... given, without a medical eye, he can't recognize the meanings of small fluctuations. But he does know a bit about what he's looking at. His expression a bit less tense, he hands it back to Robustus. He looks over at Shred, finally smiling a bit, "Robby's right." The grounder gives Psykeout the same smile, albeit diminished. Psykeout stands next to Shred, his hand on her shoulder and looking towards Robustus, "So, think it's about time to put her chest plate back on?" Robustus hrms, "Robby?" he asks, then moves over to the containment unit to push it out of the way. Then coming back to put the chest plate on Shred back into place. This done, he can sanitize the tools used in the procedure. Goa grins with his fangs. "'Dyou prefer Robber?" He bows his head to Psykeout and Shred. "Looks like everything went well. Me, I've gotta be going. Toldja you'd be fine, Shred." The mech folds his boots back down and quietly makes his way out of the med bay. He had a gut feeling he'd be back soon, if the rest of his time on Cybertron was any indication, but ... no need to aggravate the inevitable. Shred smiles, "Thanks guys. at least I now know I am not about to burn out my laser core, right? and I don't plan on getting myself in any dangerous scrapes with experimental fuels which could do it either." Psykeout looks down towards Shred, his optics flickering softly and his vocoder is solemn, "Good to have you back, Shred." Robustus hmms, "I'll think about it Goa." he notes with a gentle smile. "Shred, I would suggest you take it easy a couple cycles. No stress or work so you can adjust. Okay?" Shred smiles, "You got it Doc. I'll take it easy. Anyway, why so somber, Psyke? It worked! I'm fine! just a spark ache." Psykeout's optics relax a bit and a smile appears on his face again, "You're right. Everything will work out in the end. I'm just happy to see you functioning again. Otherwise, It'd be really lonely around here again..." Robustus nods, then hmms at Psykeout, "Should I leave you two alone?"
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