Choose Your Own Adventure Fic - Part 8
Part 1;Ā Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7
The people chose to call Thunderclash to get a sense of his mental state.
Ā [CONTENT WARNING:Ā This installment deals with a character experiencing voices other people canāt hear, and an open question about whether the voices are real.]
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āUltra Magnus is right,ā you say, trying to ignore Skids shooting you a startled - and hurt - look.Ā āBefore we decide anything else, letās hail the Vis Vitalis.Ā We should at least find out where we stand.ā
You silently hope Skids will understand.Ā You want to help Gleeerboo, and hopefully you can - but youāre not going to be of any help if you charge in without gathering all the information first.Ā You still donāt know whatās happening with the planet, or with Thunderclash, or how (or even whether) theyāre connected.Ā And if you insist on just going to the planet without even checking on Thunderclash, odds are that Ultra Magnus or Perceptor will have a lot of questions for you.
Besides, Thunderclash is your patient, and that has to take priority.
Ultra Magnus hails the ship, and you wait.Ā And wait.
After a much longer pause than youād normally expect, an image finally flickers to life on the main screenā¦ but it isnāt Thunderclash.Ā Instead, you recognise the softly rounded features of one of Thunderclashās subordinates.Ā You seem to remember that this was the Vis Vitalisās second lieutenant - he came aboard the Lost Light when you last encountered Thunderclash.Ā You recall that he was a bit quiet, but then, it was probably easy for him to get lost in the flood of adoration directed at his commander, and then the high drama of then-first officer Paddoxās betrayal.
You wince slightly, still remembering the full-body ache after Swerve swung your alt mode into Paddox so hard that he shattered into his component beings.
āThis is Ultra Magnus of the Lost Light to speak to Captain -āĀ Magnus is cut off.
āOh, thank you, Primus!āĀ The young officer peers anxiously at you all.Ā āPlease - we need your help.ā
Magnus looks less than impressed.Ā āState your designation.ā
The officer straightens up, although his expression still betrays his worry.Ā āSecond Lieutenant Sparker, sir.Ā Please, I - I formally request assistance.Ā Captain Thunderclash is behaving extremely strangely, and Iām afraid he may be in danger, sir.ā
āWe are aware of the situation.Ā I am accompanied by Rung, one of the Autobotsā leading psychiatrists.āĀ You give a solemn nod when Magnus gestures in your direction, and you school yourself not to smile in greeting; in situations like this, many people prefer a serious expert to a friendly one.Ā āCaptain Thunderclash himself contacted us, so if you could simply connect -ā
āI canāt, sir!āĀ Sparker bursts out.Ā āThe captain locked himself in the shuttle bay ten minutes ago, and he wonāt answer his comm!ā
Turning away from the screen, Skids murmurs, āDo we think heās planning to -ā
At that moment, a siren sounds on the Vis Vitalis.Ā You can hear a muffled voice in the background shouting, āUnauthorised launch!āĀ Sparker mouths a curse, and then disappears from view.
āWe do,ā Perceptor answers Skids coolly, and puts the view of the Vis Vitalis in space up on a split screen with the still-open comm link to the shipās chaotic bridge.Ā He zeroes in on an even tinier dot thatās moving away from the Vis Vitalis at speed.Ā āI surmise that this shuttle contains Captain Thunderclash, and, further, that his trajectory is towards the planet.ā
āHail the shuttle.āĀ Magnus turns to you.Ā āRung, you may be best suited to talk to him.ā
Youāre prepared for the hail to go ignored, but to your surprise, Thunderclash responds.Ā He looks haggard, hunched over the controls of a small shuttle.Ā Thereās a grey tint to his facial metal, and his colours seem muted - a sign of stressed systems.Ā His optics, though, are blindingly, worryingly bright.
āThunderclash here,ā he says.Ā He isnāt looking at the screen, and he sounds distracted as his fingers fly over the controls.Ā As you watch, Thunderclash suddenly winces and clutches his head.Ā A second later, he seems to shake it off.
It's all you, Doc - what do you say?
Tell Thunderclash to return to the Vis Vitalis so you can help him.
Reassure him by saying you think the voices may be real (but nothing further).
Tell him about Greeeboo and the planet waking up.
Offer to accompany him to the planet to help figure out what's going on.
Keep him talking while you signal Magnus to move to intercept his shuttle.
