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Title: Upgrade Time Location: Stanix Date: 11 April 2015 NPCs: Viscera (Scorn) Summary: Bloodhound collects on her much sought-after upgrades and goes offline to incubate. Insecticons are weird like that. |
Viscera's conversation with Bloodhound would be rather brief and not as terribly informative as a medical professional should be. Then again, he wanted to be careful in case anyone was listening. Either way, Bloodhound would be directed to the aged city of Stanix, its buildings keeping with old traditions instead of converting to the more modern appeal of the bigger cities.
The free willed and bestial find their niche here, so not many glances are sent the femme's way to the building described over the comm. She'll definitely know which one it is, though, as Scorn stands outside it and smirks at the sight of her little informant. "Glad you found the place alright, Bloodhound. Please, come in and we can get started."
Ushered inside, she'll be met with a medbay, now converted into something more akin to a lab. Looking over some pod-like contraption covered with a tarp stands the only other person in the room who, at the sound of their arrival, turns around to reveal himself. "Ahh, so you're Bloodhound. Pleasure to meet you." Viscera hisses out pleasantly in greeting with an all too pleased smile growing wide on his face. A more exotic Insecticon, like Scorn, he appears more akin to a wolf spider with his brown and black scheme as well at four, sharp optics and four arms with two extra 'legs' sprouting from his shoulder blades. "Come come, sit." He motions enthusiastically to the medical table next to him.
Spectrum makes her way to the building and inside with a dutiful pace, but also a wary one. It's a new place for her and a strange one at that, even if the animalistic scenery is more to her liking. The white scienceformer offers Scorn a deferent nod and "Ma'am" as she enters and gives a similar nod, with less formal address, to the wolf spider whom she guesses to be Viscera. When in valuable company, it doesn't hurt to show some extra manners.
"You must be Viscera," she asserts of the doctor as she looks around the lab before taking his instruction and seating herself on the table.
Scorn hangs off to the side for now, letting Viscera do his thing. The spider, meanwhile, bows his heads slightly and offers a grand sweep of his arm. "At your service. My Queen has told me you wish to have a new body which, after our little chat, I've begun the basis of." A motion to the covered tank before he moves over and pulls it off to reveal a skeletal frame suspended in fluid and linked up to several tubes, still partially exposed beneath the usual inner workings of a Cybertronian, though no defined details of the final product are visible yet.
"As I'm sure you know, we Insecticons don't exactly 'build' our people more than we 'grow' them. Rather different from you Cybertronians. I would have been so pleased to put you in an Insecticon body, but since you really don't want that.." Viscera shrugs all four arms. "I've simply tweaked our technology to make something more to your liking. Do know that this is a rather.. experimental procedure." He grins and taps his fingertips together. "So then, shall I begin the examination? I need to make sure your spark is healthy enough for transplant."
Bloodhound's optics shimmer as she surveys her new body. The empty smiles eagerly as she peruses its form. The outside may be missing but it's performance that she's asked for and from the components that are present so far, that's what she's got.
She pauses in her gazing and looks over critically at Viscera. "Experimental how?"
"Welllll..." Viscera purses his lips and laces fingers, tapping thumbs absently as he explains. "Converting a pod that creates Insecticons into a pod that creates Beastformers is.. not without its risks. There have been many attempts back on Animatron, but none turned out as well as I'd hoped. However.." This is where he grins excitedly. "Cybertron offers much more technology, so I have faith in this latest attempt."
Moving back to the medical table, Viscera gets to work setting up the machines beside it, all his arms at work, and pulling tools over. "Now if you'd please, I need to take some samples and check some things before we even go any further."
Bloodhound lays back on the table but continues to eye the doctor with caution. "What are the risks, it's inoperable and you put me back in my current body?"
Once Bloodhound is on the table, Viscera turns around and busily gets her set. Before she can even protest he's hooked her up to a vitals machine and stuck a needle between the plates of her arm, withdrawing some energon and setting it aside. Only after he's done this does he answer Bloodhound with a clear of his vocals. "There are several risks when transplanting a spark. Rejection is possible, yes, but the degree can vary from simply not working, life long health issues, or.. death, simply put."
Viscera doesn't appear terribly worried by this news and keeps his amused demeanor while overlooking Bloodhound's vital signs. "There are some ways to counter this and assure a success, however, like making sure your spark is strong enough and introducing your CNA as well as your spark to the other body while it's growing." Picking up a lasr scalpel now, Viscera pauses while hovering over her and looks to her with all four optics. "..Is this a risk you'd like to take? Best tell me now before I open up your spark chamber."
The empty winces slightly at the needle but pays it little mind, far more intent on her question. At the spider-wolf's answer she furrows her brow, only to pause before asking more. Bloodhound's expression softens in realization, then she glances to Scorn before turning back to Viscera with conviction in her optics. "Yes. I've upheld my part of the deal, just do your best to make sure the process goes smoothly. If there's a proper beastformer in that tank my spark won't reject it."
Viscera chuckles softly, though a dark tinge lingers on the edges. "Oh, don't worry your pretty little head about that. One hundred percent beast in that tank, I assure you." Before he makes the cut and opens her up, Scorn notes from afar. "I have my utmost faith in this mech, Bloodhound. I wouldn't have brought you to him if I didn't trust him. After all, he was my nurse."
To that Viscera looks fondly to his Queen a moment before work comes back in and pulls his attention to his patient. "You may feel some discomfort.." He smiles wide and applies some mild pain blockers before cutting into her chestplate, using two hands at once while the others keep themselves busy with any cleanup and making sure she's secure.
It's her spark chamber that he's truly after, so once her chestplate is open and inner workings exposed, Viscera hms in thought while observing the pulsing life force. "It appears healthy enough.." A hand comes around to connect a small device on a wire to the casing. "Pulse is normal, no irregular crackles, and it's a good size. Mm, yes.." He event attempts to poke it slightly. "And it yeilds well..."
It wasn't that long ago that Bloodhound's chassis was wide open to the world but having her nicely repaired body dismantled on a medical table makes it noticeably less pleasant this time. Despite the discomfort though the empty doesn't squirm; a twitch and a small furrowing of her features betrays that the pain blockers aren't total but so far it's not more than she can handle.
The scienceformer looks down as the glow of her spark reflects off the wolf-spider's face and she watches with a conflicting mix of curiosity and revulsion as he does his work. It's her first time being conscious on a circuit slab in a very long time.
Viscera is positively grinning at the prospect of running this little experiment again. He can only wonder if it will be another failure, though... But Bloodhound seems strong and determined, so he's confident. "Your spark shows promise, so I believe we can move onto step two. However.. you have a choice." He straightens up and nods to the body in the tank. "We can put your spark in now and leave you dormant until it's finished ooor we can wait until it's done before puting you in. Your choice, really."
"Are there any advantages to having my spark transplanted now?" Bloodhound asks, managing an even tone with some effort.
Viscera rubs his chin a little. "Hm.. Well, if we transplanted you now it'd give your spark and your mind more time to integrate as the body is built. A stronger bond is likely from this with lower chance of rejection. But again, the body isn't done yet, so you'll be stuck in there a good while. Gotta make sure all your affairs and such are in order."
"How long do you think it will take to complete?" The white empty questions.
"A stellar cycle." Viscera says simply, which is the equivalent of seven and a half Earth months. But what's Earth..? Ah, who cares. "Insecticon bodies take half the time, but since this is such a larger specimen, and a completely different frametype, it'll take much longer."
Bloodhound nods faintly and thinks only briefly on the insecticon's question before giving her answer. "Put me in - please."
Turning her head to look back at Scorn, she gives the queen a smile, letting some of her eagerness at being in her new body show once more. "I'll see you again in a 'stellar, ma'am."
Scorn can only smile back briefly in that forced way. "See you soon, dear. When we meet again I daresay you'l be a completely different person." She then nods to Viscera who nods back and beams toothily at Bloodhound. "Just count backwards from ten and before you know it you'll be in your new body." All the while he injects an anasthetic into the energon feed, letting it course through her system and gradually send her into stasis.
"I'm looking forward to it," Bloodhound replies as she rests her head on the table again and lets her optics unfocus on the ceiling. They dim a moment later as the empty takes one last deep breath in her body, drawing in the scents of spilt energon, insecticons, sanitizer, and warm lab equipment and cycling it through her systems. Her pulse rate drops as the scienceformer slips into a familiar torpor while the spider's anaesthetic encourages the same. In her mind, she starts to count. Ten... nine...... eight..........
...seven...............
And then darkness.... And once Bloodhound is asleep Viscera smirks. "Let's hope she survives this, mm?" He chuckles to Scorn, who simply smirks and replies, "If she does then we may gain a foothold in this little conflict, should we join. But please, Viscera, don't let me keep you waiting."
And so, with a final nod, Viscera begins the lengthy, delicate procedure of transfering both Bloodhound's spark and brain. To her the time will pass just a brief recharge, but so much will change when she awakens...