![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wyntir_knightWell, chapter 8 of Life After Death is done, I think. It’s a little short, but the rest of the things I want to add really fit better into a new chapter, since it deals with an entirely new locale. Any thoughts or opinions? Anything would be appreciated.
Chapter 8: Re-awakenings
Disclaimer: Transformers belong to Hasbro and Takara, and are licensed to IDW and Dreamworks. My original characters are my own and any similarity between them and any existing characters from canon or fandom is purely coincidental. I claim no ownership by writing this work.
***
Ratchet came online slowly, painfully. His whole body pulsed with a dull ache and his energy reserves were so low that even activating his senses was a chore. He lay on the floor for a long time gathering the strength to run a self-diagnostic.
He first became aware of tactile sensations. He was lying on a cold metal floor. He was on his side, his arms tied in front of him painfully at the wrists with what felt like heavy cable. Judging by the sensations coming from his left wrist it was a good bet that part of the mechanism had been crushed, but without a proper diagnostic he couldn't be sure.
Ratchet brought his audials back online next and became aware of a whimper coming from somewhere ahead of him. A wet licking, a whimper, a moan. Someone was in pain and frightened. He activated his optics.
Ultaree lay in the corner licking a nasty looking gash in his left flank. His whole body shook and he whimpered and moaned softly to himself every time his black tongue touched his wounds. He occasionally gazed at the door or at Ratchet and let out a mournful trill. Finally he gave up on licking his wounds. He curled into a ball, laying his beak on the tip of his tail, flanks heaving in a sigh.
After a long moment, Ratchet was able to bring his vocalizer back on-line.
"Ultaree?" he whispered.
The sinorian's head shot up, his eyes wide.
"Ratchet? You're alive? Oh no," he whimpered.
"What?" Ratchet asked.
"Oh, I, uhm, I'm glad that Eltara failed to kill you, but that means that she's won. ... I, I was hoping that you, that none of you, would have to go to the arena," Ultaree said.
"Forget about that. ... What happened? .... How did Meda know?" Ratchet asked slowly, his words slurring slightly.
"I think that I might have told her. Not directly, but ... Oh I had so hoped she was different. She's so lovely and perfect and so intelligent. I guess that I hoped she'd understand me, that she'd have helped us, but I guess I was dreaming ... I actually thought she might have taken me as her primary," Ultaree said softly curling back into a mournful ball.
"I ... it's not your fault," Ratchet said quietly.
The door to cell opened and a small, brightly coloured sinorian walked in. He was shorter than Ultaree, but had more defined muscles and he radiated a confidence that the engineer did not. He reminded Ratchet of a cross between a parrot and a pit bull.
"Get up," he said, standing over Ultaree's huddled form. "The Mistress wants you."
"Why am I still alive, Tandor?" Ultaree asked.
"She's not done with you," Tandor said, with a dismissive flick of his wings. "Get up. Don't leave her waiting. I think we all remember what happened last time you angred her. Get up or I'll find a way to make you move."
Ultaree flinched and tried to back away.
"Leave him alone," Ratchet said, weakly.
"Oh yes, I'd almost forgotten about you," Tandor said with a sneer, turning on the medic. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a vial of green liquid. He threw it at Ratchet. "Drink that."
"No," Ratchet said.
"It's fuel. It's the same scat the hatchling gave you before," Tandor said. "Ch'thryxcha wants you moving, so either you drink it on your own or I will take great pleasure in forcing it down your throat."
"It's alright, Ratchet, it's safe. They can't afford to damage you," Ultaree said. "But he will make force feeding you as painful as possible."
"I can't move," Ratchet said tightly.
"Oh right. You're the one who caused the Captain so much trouble before ... Well it looks like I might get my fun after all," Tandor said, approaching Ratchet slowly.
"Wait! Let me do it! Please," Ultaree cried, struggling to stand.
"Yeah, like that's going to happen. I've had just about enough of your tricks," Tandor snorted.
He picked up the vial flicking off the stopper with a claw and grabbed Ratchet by his chevron pulling his head back roughly. The medic gasped at the pain but suddenly found the vial pressed so hard to his lips that it cut into the sensitive metal. The liquid burned as it went down and Ratchet had to fight not to spit it out.
"Awww! Is that not quite what the Five-Face Robots are used to?" Tandor asked sarcastically, pushing Ratchet violently away. "Now you're going to come with me and you're going to do exactly what you're told. I still have this little toy after all," he said waving a pain rod.
Ratchet felt his systems power up as the fuel began to course through him.
"Oh, and if you figure you can handle the rod, just remember that I will happily kill the hatchling if any of you give me too much trouble. Unlike him, I'm still in the Captain's favour," Tandor said, opening the cell door.
***
Prowl stood in the hall surrounded by the other Autobots and Ultaree. They were all in various states of disrepair, but all functional. Prowl noticed that Huffer was swaying slightly. He was holding onto Windcharger for balance, but was being surprisingly compliant.
Meda stood on the upper catwalk twirling a pain rod in her claw. Her right back leg was wrapped in a bandage and it looked as if several feathers had been ripped out.
"Captain Eltara would like to see all of you on the bridge before we say our goodbys," Meda said happily. "I believe you know the way." She motioned toward the bridge with the rod.
It took Prowl's battle computer less than a second to confirm that there were no other options and he quietly led the way to the bridge. The door opened at his approach and Eltara's voice could be heard from within.
"Of course! It is a gift, nothing more. Consider it an act of good faith," she said sweetly.
"This changes nothing," a sibliant voice sneered. "However, I thank you for the gift, and will treat him as I would his progenetrix."
"I would expect nothing less, Ch'thryxcha," Eltara said. "Ah, and I see your property is ready to be unloaded. We can further discuss this in person."
"Hardly!" Ch'thryxcha said with a hiss. "I am far too busy to waste my time with you. Guards will meet you at the dock. Once delivery is confirmed the rest of your payment will be wired to your account."
Prowl saw Eltara's eyes narrow dangerously and, for a moment, she looked ready to kill. The moment passed quickly, though, and there was soon no sign of her anger.
"Of course!" she said silkily. "How silly of me to think otherwise. I look forward to doing further business with you."
"I'm sure," came the reply, followed by the audible click of a communications channel closing.
Very slowly and deliberately Eltara took hold of the metal rail of the upper deck and squeezed until the metal twisted in her grasp. After a long moment she exhaled slowly, opened her eyes, and looked at the mechs on the lower deck.
"Are they ready for transfer, my darling?" she asked.
"Of course, my lady, it is exactly as you ordered," Tandor replied, gazing up at Eltara and bowing slightly.
Prowl saw Brawn shift his weight slightly, saw his arms tense, but, in his weakened state, he couldn't react quickly enough. Brawn snapped the cables at his wrist and reached out to grab Eltara all in one swift movement.
Before any of the other mech's could react, Tandor had activated the pain rod and Brawn lay writhing on the ground.
"All of you STOP!" Eltara's voice rang out.
Tandor stopped his torture and the only sounds in the room were Brawn cycling air quickly and a whimper from Ultaree, his throat grasped firmly in Meda's clawed hand.
"While you are equipped with the inhibitors you can take no action against us. But if you try anything again I will have Meda snap his neck," Eltara said with a menacing growl.
Ultaree let out a squeak as Meda tightened her grip.
“Alright, we’ll cooperate,” Prowl said, holding up his hands as best he could while bound. “All of you stand down. That includes you Brawn,” he added, looking pointedly at the mini-bot who was regaining his feet with Ratchet’s help.
“Well, will wonders never cease? I had almost believed that you were incapable on grasping that you were beat,” Eltara purred. “Now let him go, Meda. While I’m sure Ch’thryxcha will not be heartbroken if his gift does not arrive, it would be in bad form for us to harm it if we don’t have to.”
“Why?” Ultaree croaked, after Meda released him. “Why are you doing this?”
“Why am I doing what? Why am I giving you to the arena? Why am I selling this scrap? Why am I not killing you?” Eltara asked with a sneer.
“Yes,” Ultaree said, walking closer to the raised bridge. “I don’t understand. Why would you do any of this? You know who these people are! You know what they mean!”
“Hmph. I know what your sire’s sire said. Just as I know that both he and your sire were fools. I will never know what I saw in either or why I didn’t take your sire’s head when I had the chance!” Eltara said coldly. “But I know that my error ends with you. I will not kill you. I feel enough compassion for you and your kinship that I will not kill you. But I will not have you on my ship either! You care for this scrap so much that you would betray your own matriarch? Then so be it. Their fate is yours to share!” She turned her back on Ultaree and he collapsed into a miserable heap on the floor.
"Please, you can't do this," he whispered miserably.
“I can and I have. Open the bay doors, Tandor!” she ordered. "Get this scrap off my ship!"
Chapter 8: Re-awakenings
Disclaimer: Transformers belong to Hasbro and Takara, and are licensed to IDW and Dreamworks. My original characters are my own and any similarity between them and any existing characters from canon or fandom is purely coincidental. I claim no ownership by writing this work.
***
Ratchet came online slowly, painfully. His whole body pulsed with a dull ache and his energy reserves were so low that even activating his senses was a chore. He lay on the floor for a long time gathering the strength to run a self-diagnostic.
He first became aware of tactile sensations. He was lying on a cold metal floor. He was on his side, his arms tied in front of him painfully at the wrists with what felt like heavy cable. Judging by the sensations coming from his left wrist it was a good bet that part of the mechanism had been crushed, but without a proper diagnostic he couldn't be sure.
Ratchet brought his audials back online next and became aware of a whimper coming from somewhere ahead of him. A wet licking, a whimper, a moan. Someone was in pain and frightened. He activated his optics.
Ultaree lay in the corner licking a nasty looking gash in his left flank. His whole body shook and he whimpered and moaned softly to himself every time his black tongue touched his wounds. He occasionally gazed at the door or at Ratchet and let out a mournful trill. Finally he gave up on licking his wounds. He curled into a ball, laying his beak on the tip of his tail, flanks heaving in a sigh.
After a long moment, Ratchet was able to bring his vocalizer back on-line.
"Ultaree?" he whispered.
The sinorian's head shot up, his eyes wide.
"Ratchet? You're alive? Oh no," he whimpered.
"What?" Ratchet asked.
"Oh, I, uhm, I'm glad that Eltara failed to kill you, but that means that she's won. ... I, I was hoping that you, that none of you, would have to go to the arena," Ultaree said.
"Forget about that. ... What happened? .... How did Meda know?" Ratchet asked slowly, his words slurring slightly.
"I think that I might have told her. Not directly, but ... Oh I had so hoped she was different. She's so lovely and perfect and so intelligent. I guess that I hoped she'd understand me, that she'd have helped us, but I guess I was dreaming ... I actually thought she might have taken me as her primary," Ultaree said softly curling back into a mournful ball.
"I ... it's not your fault," Ratchet said quietly.
The door to cell opened and a small, brightly coloured sinorian walked in. He was shorter than Ultaree, but had more defined muscles and he radiated a confidence that the engineer did not. He reminded Ratchet of a cross between a parrot and a pit bull.
"Get up," he said, standing over Ultaree's huddled form. "The Mistress wants you."
"Why am I still alive, Tandor?" Ultaree asked.
"She's not done with you," Tandor said, with a dismissive flick of his wings. "Get up. Don't leave her waiting. I think we all remember what happened last time you angred her. Get up or I'll find a way to make you move."
Ultaree flinched and tried to back away.
"Leave him alone," Ratchet said, weakly.
"Oh yes, I'd almost forgotten about you," Tandor said with a sneer, turning on the medic. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a vial of green liquid. He threw it at Ratchet. "Drink that."
"No," Ratchet said.
"It's fuel. It's the same scat the hatchling gave you before," Tandor said. "Ch'thryxcha wants you moving, so either you drink it on your own or I will take great pleasure in forcing it down your throat."
"It's alright, Ratchet, it's safe. They can't afford to damage you," Ultaree said. "But he will make force feeding you as painful as possible."
"I can't move," Ratchet said tightly.
"Oh right. You're the one who caused the Captain so much trouble before ... Well it looks like I might get my fun after all," Tandor said, approaching Ratchet slowly.
"Wait! Let me do it! Please," Ultaree cried, struggling to stand.
"Yeah, like that's going to happen. I've had just about enough of your tricks," Tandor snorted.
He picked up the vial flicking off the stopper with a claw and grabbed Ratchet by his chevron pulling his head back roughly. The medic gasped at the pain but suddenly found the vial pressed so hard to his lips that it cut into the sensitive metal. The liquid burned as it went down and Ratchet had to fight not to spit it out.
"Awww! Is that not quite what the Five-Face Robots are used to?" Tandor asked sarcastically, pushing Ratchet violently away. "Now you're going to come with me and you're going to do exactly what you're told. I still have this little toy after all," he said waving a pain rod.
Ratchet felt his systems power up as the fuel began to course through him.
"Oh, and if you figure you can handle the rod, just remember that I will happily kill the hatchling if any of you give me too much trouble. Unlike him, I'm still in the Captain's favour," Tandor said, opening the cell door.
***
Prowl stood in the hall surrounded by the other Autobots and Ultaree. They were all in various states of disrepair, but all functional. Prowl noticed that Huffer was swaying slightly. He was holding onto Windcharger for balance, but was being surprisingly compliant.
Meda stood on the upper catwalk twirling a pain rod in her claw. Her right back leg was wrapped in a bandage and it looked as if several feathers had been ripped out.
"Captain Eltara would like to see all of you on the bridge before we say our goodbys," Meda said happily. "I believe you know the way." She motioned toward the bridge with the rod.
It took Prowl's battle computer less than a second to confirm that there were no other options and he quietly led the way to the bridge. The door opened at his approach and Eltara's voice could be heard from within.
"Of course! It is a gift, nothing more. Consider it an act of good faith," she said sweetly.
"This changes nothing," a sibliant voice sneered. "However, I thank you for the gift, and will treat him as I would his progenetrix."
"I would expect nothing less, Ch'thryxcha," Eltara said. "Ah, and I see your property is ready to be unloaded. We can further discuss this in person."
"Hardly!" Ch'thryxcha said with a hiss. "I am far too busy to waste my time with you. Guards will meet you at the dock. Once delivery is confirmed the rest of your payment will be wired to your account."
Prowl saw Eltara's eyes narrow dangerously and, for a moment, she looked ready to kill. The moment passed quickly, though, and there was soon no sign of her anger.
"Of course!" she said silkily. "How silly of me to think otherwise. I look forward to doing further business with you."
"I'm sure," came the reply, followed by the audible click of a communications channel closing.
Very slowly and deliberately Eltara took hold of the metal rail of the upper deck and squeezed until the metal twisted in her grasp. After a long moment she exhaled slowly, opened her eyes, and looked at the mechs on the lower deck.
"Are they ready for transfer, my darling?" she asked.
"Of course, my lady, it is exactly as you ordered," Tandor replied, gazing up at Eltara and bowing slightly.
Prowl saw Brawn shift his weight slightly, saw his arms tense, but, in his weakened state, he couldn't react quickly enough. Brawn snapped the cables at his wrist and reached out to grab Eltara all in one swift movement.
Before any of the other mech's could react, Tandor had activated the pain rod and Brawn lay writhing on the ground.
"All of you STOP!" Eltara's voice rang out.
Tandor stopped his torture and the only sounds in the room were Brawn cycling air quickly and a whimper from Ultaree, his throat grasped firmly in Meda's clawed hand.
"While you are equipped with the inhibitors you can take no action against us. But if you try anything again I will have Meda snap his neck," Eltara said with a menacing growl.
Ultaree let out a squeak as Meda tightened her grip.
“Alright, we’ll cooperate,” Prowl said, holding up his hands as best he could while bound. “All of you stand down. That includes you Brawn,” he added, looking pointedly at the mini-bot who was regaining his feet with Ratchet’s help.
“Well, will wonders never cease? I had almost believed that you were incapable on grasping that you were beat,” Eltara purred. “Now let him go, Meda. While I’m sure Ch’thryxcha will not be heartbroken if his gift does not arrive, it would be in bad form for us to harm it if we don’t have to.”
“Why?” Ultaree croaked, after Meda released him. “Why are you doing this?”
“Why am I doing what? Why am I giving you to the arena? Why am I selling this scrap? Why am I not killing you?” Eltara asked with a sneer.
“Yes,” Ultaree said, walking closer to the raised bridge. “I don’t understand. Why would you do any of this? You know who these people are! You know what they mean!”
“Hmph. I know what your sire’s sire said. Just as I know that both he and your sire were fools. I will never know what I saw in either or why I didn’t take your sire’s head when I had the chance!” Eltara said coldly. “But I know that my error ends with you. I will not kill you. I feel enough compassion for you and your kinship that I will not kill you. But I will not have you on my ship either! You care for this scrap so much that you would betray your own matriarch? Then so be it. Their fate is yours to share!” She turned her back on Ultaree and he collapsed into a miserable heap on the floor.
"Please, you can't do this," he whispered miserably.
“I can and I have. Open the bay doors, Tandor!” she ordered. "Get this scrap off my ship!"