Clever Thing | TFP AU

Chapter 9

"You're lookin' a little green over there, Doc. You good?"

Ratchet didn't say anything at first, his optics fixed on the dashboard of the ship. He was trying to focus on one thing in order to ground himself so he forgot about vomiting. It had been working so far. That is, until Tipstreak reminded him.

"I'm fine.." He grumbled, waving his hand dismissively despite feeling his tanks continue to churn.

Why did it always have to be flying?

Tipstreak shrugged, returning his attention to piloting the ship. "Not a fan of flying, huh?"

Ratchet shook his head. "Never have been. Too many close calls and chaotic crashes..."

"Primus, did anyone know how to properly fly a ship back then?"

"Of course, but our strong suit has always been ground-related tactics, hence why most of us possess ground vehicle modes. There were the Aerialbots, though."

Tipstreak tilted his helm. "The Aerialbots? I've never heard of them."

"The Aerialbots were a group of Autobots used strictly for aerial missions and attacks. They were the only ones who could fight seekers in a fair fight and they ruled the sky for quite some time. During Cybertron's final days, however, some perished while others simply disappeared." Ratchet explained, folding his hands in his lap.

"Do you know where they went? Maybe they could help us out!"

Ratchet sighed and shook his head in dismay. "Ever since Cybertron went dark, we haven't seen any trace of them. Who knows if they're even still ali—" A tremor that rattled the ship interrupted him mid-sentence and he let out a slight gasp of surprise. He gripped the edge of his seat with his digits to anchor himself. "What was that?"

Tipstreak glanced at one of the many screens that showed live video feed, frowning when three objects slowly came into view once the smoke cleared. "Scrap, we've got three bogeys on our tailpipes."

"Is Starscream with them?"

"Nah, that coward hardly ever leaves his little fortress. He probably sent some of his minions after us."

Another tremor shook the ship and warning lights flared to life on the dashboard.

"Can you lose them?" Ratchet asked, glancing nervously at the screen. Those were definitely seekers, no doubt sent by Starscream. "We can't risk leading them straight to Iacon."

"Seekers are relentless, there's no way I'll be able to outrun 'em." Tipstreak muttered, gripping the controls and jerking the ship to the right to avoid being hit again. "Head to the back of the ship and get in the gunner cockpit. I need you to try and shoot 'em down."

"What? Where are the weapon systems?!"

"This ship doesn't have automatic weapons! Unless you wanna be shredded, I suggest you get a move on!"

Ratchet hesitated, his spark already racing within his chest. He wasn't sure if he could do this, but he knew he needed to. He needed to get the message to Optimus. Gathering his courage, he left his seat and made his way down the narrow hallway.

He climbed into the gunner cockpit, which was on the right at the very back of the ship, and took a seat behind the gun. Everything immediately powered up and he flinched when the gun shifted from its offline position. He took a few deep vents in an attempt to calm himself before gripping the gun's controls.

"I'll try to keep the ship steady for ya, but no promises!"

"Right..." Ratchet mumbled, steadying his shaking servos.

He could see the seekers through the gun's targeting system, he just had to lock onto them. Primus, it had probably been eons since he last used a weapon like this.

The ship jerked again before he could gather himself and he squeezed his optics shut for a moment. He was going to vomit for sure...

"Ratchet, come on! I can't outmaneuver them forever!"

"Just give me a moment!"

"We don't have a moment!"

Ratchet cursed to himself. He focused on the gun, then on the seekers. The gun automatically locked onto one of them and as soon as it did, he pressed the button to fire. Blistering hot bolts erupted from the barrel, tearing apart their intended target within seconds.

"Nice shot, Doc! Two more to go!"

Ratchet tuned out Tipstreak's voice so he could focus on getting the next seeker into the gun's line of sight. It was fairly easy now that he had gotten the hang of it and another seeker was soon bathed in flames.

That meant there was one left. The last one was very tricky to target because it kept moving whenever Ratchet was close to locking on. Something seemed off, though. The seeker wasn't firing at them. It was only trying to avoid being targeted.

Squinting his optics, Ratchet realized that it wasn't just any ordinary seeker.

It was Thundercracker!

Soon, Thundercracker had moved out of Ratchet's line of sight and began flying alongside the ship. It took the medic a second to realize what the seeker was doing and he ran back to the cockpit of the ship. "Tipstreak! You need to land the ship!"

Tipstreak looked at him like he had three heads. "What?! Are you crazy? I'm not landing with a seeker still hanging around!"

"It's Thundercracker. I think he wants us to land. That's why he's not shooting at us." Ratchet said, watching Thundercracker fly alongside them through the windshield of the ship.

Tipstreak blinked a few times in disbelief before reluctantly slowing down so he could land the ship. "Alright. But if this goes sour, I'm blaming you."

———

Thundercracker has joined the battle!

Do you think he has good intentions? You'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out!

Sorry for not updating in a while, I had some stuff going on.