Making a List

[Deleted]

Characters: Nickel, Open to Decepticons
Location: Outside the Peaceful Tyranny
Content Warnings: N/A
Plot Summary: Sometime after the necessary meeting of the DJD and Megatron, Nickel is making her own to-do list, but interruptions are expected.

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Nickel had meant what she said during that meeting. The Decepticon Justice Division was expected to be some of the most elite killers and hunters in Megatron's arsenal, and for them to do so they had to be in top shape. And she was the only bot willing to risk the task. She was probably one of the only other Decepticon willing to take the task medic wise, because a vast majority of the Decepticons seemed to regard the DJD with admiration and deep fear.

Then again, Nickel was one of the few with a very firm hand and didn't take crap from anyone, no matter if they were Tarn's size, her size, or much larger.

For the time being though, Nickel sat at the very tip of the bow of the Peaceful Tyranny, legs dangling off the edge with little fear of falling. She had done this countless times before since joining their ranks so she knew where to balance herself and when she was close to falling. Not to mention, she could fly thankfully. But, the mini sat there, data pad in one hand and stylus in the other, having a blank holographic page before her as she pondered over what needed to be done on her end. She tapped her chin as she mentally went through her top concerns, eventually coming to focus on the needs and concerns of her team, her "sons" as she had come to think of them since she was technically quite stern very much like a carrier but she also knew she was very much older than the rest.

"Hmmm, definitely need to double check Tarn's t-cog...make sure Helex isn't gunking up his teeth again..." Nickel mumbled under her breath, writing them down as they came to mind. "The Pet probably needs a bath, and his teeth cleaned...make sure Vos and Kaon aren't roughing up their systems...see if Tess is sharpening his blades..." It was mostly habit now that Nickel muttered under her breath as she made up her to-do lists, having started using them far more often when it came to this band of killing machines as she fondly called them. But she was so focused and going through her mental things to do she didn't quite consider she might have company.

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Steamhammer moseyed along the underside of the Peaceful Tyranny, his massive pedes causing quite a noise. One might've asked how the sixty-foot tall Constructicon was achieving such a feat without any visible safety equipment, to which the answer would've been his internal ZPEM, though the question itself usually prompted Steamer to throttle the asker around for his own amusement, and to prove his point. In terms of manual labor and engineering duties, it felt good not having a superior in said fields to directly report to. Steamhammer was free to deal with whatever engineering problems he saw fit, from structural flaws to routine maintenance. Having his audials clear of the barking of a site manager, and his servos free of paperwork was the highest blessing.

In his periodic inspection of the Nemesis, and subsequently all vessels docked with it, he'd noticed the Tyranny was in need of a quick refueling. Nobody had asked him to handle it, and the DJD's vessel wasn't sanctioned to leave in the next few hours, so he did what any conditioned worker bee would do and got down to it. With him he carried the Nemesis's fuel outtake valve connected to a long tube. Steamhammer had made his way towards the Tyranny's intake valve to connect the two, doing just that. The refueling process made an even larger racket than his footsteps, but luckily for Steamer, nobody was around to be bothered by it. He thought.

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The heavy pede falls had not escaped notice however. Nickel had been writing on the data pad when she heard them, initially thinking it might have just been one of the larger DJD members within the ship. Or coming to make sure she was occupied. But as the sound continued, Nickel paused in her writing, listening closely to the steps and realizing they were much heavier than even the likes of Helex or Tesarus. These steps were soon followed by another sound, louder than even the steps.

Putting away the data pad and her stylus, Nickel got to her feet before activating her jetpack, flying off the bow and heading to the underside of the Tyranny. It didn't take long for Nickel to find the source of the disturbances, or who was making the disturbance. Steamhammer wasn't exactly hard to miss. "Hey lead foot!" Nickel called, flying over towards the taller Cybertronian, a look of annoyance in her expression. "Maybe a little warning you're around next time, eh? Good way to get a laser pistol to the optic."

Giving a shake of her head, Nickel observe what Steamhammer was doing. Well, that took one worry off her list causing the mini-con medic to nod to herself, "But, you did take one thing that needed to be done off my list." Nickel turned back to the Constructicon, "Who are you anyway?"

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Steamhammer looked down from gazing at the landscape above him, his tranquil 'quiet' broken by the arrival of a small airborne disturbance; for some reason, the sound of heavy machinery and pumping equipment had failed to vex him in the slightest. He was still upside down on the Tyranny's hull, so the Constructicon had to adjust his vision a bit. Upon fully registering the little hovering minicon, Steamer checked her off for the 'smallest thing he'd ever seen' award. Whoever she was, she wasn't too thrilled by his operations or the racket they produced. It wasn't his fault though; he wasn't aware of anybody out on the exterior of the vessel.

"Ah, that's what all this armor plating is for. It doesn't stop the friendly fire per say, but it gives incentive to improve one's aim," he exclaimed, his arms barred casually. His optics gave him a few important pieces of information on the femme, though she'd revealed nothing about herself so far. "I am Steamhammer, Decepticon engineering officer." The towering 'con paused for a few seconds, then continued, "You are not a maintenance bot, like me. An untrained optic might mistake you for one though."

"The circumference of your drill is but a few inches short of being regulation for the equipment we distributed to our smallest units back on Cybertron. You carry a pair of vibroscalpels, and an energon applicator. You are a medic."

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"Well, you're not entirely wrong, but neither are you entirely right." Nickel responded, hovering near Steamhammer to be close to optic level with the mech at his upside down position. "I'm Nickel, the DJD's medic and maintenance bot. One bot on this ship who keeps Megatron's execution squad and their ship functioning somewhat properly." She introduced herself, showing a little less annoyance for the time being.

She turned her gaze towards the Peaceful Tyranny, knowing the ship had been through a lot of hell as much as the team had when she first came aboard. It still went through a lot even after she had joined their team, but with it being docked here to the Nemesis, she didn't have as much concerns as before in maintaining the ship and those under her care. Sometimes, she felt she might as well be a mother to the whole team as it were with some cultures.

"And a ton of armor plating wouldn't completely stop a medic who knows what they're doing to find the soft spots, Steamhammer. Especially for someone of my size, I could get closer to you and hit that weak point if I really wanted to compare to a larger sized bot." Nickel pointed out. "Granted, that's if I outmaneuver you well enough to avoid accidental injury to myself in the process."

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Right off the bat he'd been greeted by quite the impressive resume. Being a part of the Decepticon Justice Division was an honor in and of itself, but to be their chief medical officer? That was a wholly different honor entirely. He was humbled, to say the least of it; pulling a double shift as the Tyranny's engineer was only equally impressive. Then she began discussing ways to take him apart, which was a topic of conversation Steamhammer readily enjoyed participating in.

"Joints are a universal weakpoint, if improperly armored. But yes, reaching your target would take precedence over immediate destruction, though only if one lacked a big enough gun."

Steamhammer knelt down on the Tyranny's hull once more to release the refueling tube, clutching it underneath his right arm in the meantime.

"I was always tasked with fighting the larger targets, not the small ones, like the half-witted Devastator or the uncoordinated Menasor were. All of my weapons are surgical, and precise. My fists too, if they need to be."

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"Doesn't even have to be a joint. Exposed wiring, large enough spaces between armor seams, optics, there is always some form of weakness to hit for someone in my field, if you know where to look." Nickel seemed somewhat smug about her capabilities, but they weren't unwarranted. She could more than easily bring a bot to their knees given the opening and chance. Though, sometimes Nickel's sharp tone and biting remarks were more than enough to make even a bot of Steamhammer's size stop in their tracks and listen.

Hovering back slightly to give the massive mech some room, Nickel crossed her arms loosely over her chest, watching him work with a close optic. They may be having a civil conversation, but the years spent with the DJD had taught her well enough not to entirely trust someone among the Decepticons unless she was certain she could. It wouldn't be difficult to sabotage the ship after all. But, she still kept her audios tuned to what Steamhammer was saying, raising an optic ridge for a moment before nodding to herself, "Suppose I'm not entirely surprised, even someone of your stature can be precise." She agreed. "You just don't see a lot of bots as tall and large as yourself with surgical skills, not to my knowledge at least."

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Steamhammer's optics were drawn over to a section of the Tyranny's bulkhead, almost by pure instinct. Making his way over towards the plating, he transformed his arm into a modest selection of smaller tools. He continued his conversation as one of his 'fingers' unscrewed the bulkhead plate. "Precision is a lost art. If we are to last at all after the war, we need nimble fingers more so than strong arms." Saying this, Steamhammer pulled off the loosened plate, holding it with a localized gravity field generated by his left hand. The engineer pressed two fingers against the corners of the rectangular section of exposed hull, eventually finding one of them to be less secure than the rest.

"I'll take it that since I have never met the Justice Division, I must be a very loyal Decepticon."

Steamhammer's arm transformed again, this time into a miniaturized laser emitter. A set of two crimson beams traced the edges of the plating beneath them, fusing it to the surrounding sections seamlessly. He tested them again, finding them to be re-secured properly. He then went about the task of reattaching the bulkhead plate from before, giving it a pat once everything was set.

"I would ask you about them, if I weren't treading on the hull of their ship."

Saying this, the Decepticon made his way around the side of the vessel, walking until he finally stood upright once again.

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"Given the incentive, perhaps we can change that if everyone wants to their home back in one piece." Nickel herself thought couldn't exactly call Cybertron home. She had come from one of its many colonies it had lost contact with centuries ago and what she did know of it came from memories shared by the rest of the DJD. Some memories pleasant and others not so much. "But we just actually have to survive this war to make anything possible."

Nickel watched with some curiosity as Steamhammer worked, wanting to see his precision and work for herself first hand. Doing so also made Nickel realize just how much the outside of the ship needed work, something of which was on her to-do list she had stowed away earlier. Perhaps having Steamhammer there wasn't such a bad idea after all, the small femme eyeing his work with careful optics.

"Trust me, you would know if you were on the list" Nickel commented, flying over to where Steamhammer had finished with the bulkhead plate to inspect herself. Not bad at all. "For a hulking bot such as yourself, this is some of the best work I've seen in a long while." She observed before returning to the original conversation. "But they aren't so bad when you get to know them. They're like any other bot when they aren't out torturing some poor fool to death." Nickel was quite casual on the subject, by now quite use to the habits and personalities of each individual member of the DJD, to the point they sometimes knew to tread lightly with the smallest of their members.

Finally turning to face the Constructicon, the minicon followed Steamhammer with the use of her jetpack still until they came to the roof of the hull, Nickel finally landing a few feet away. "Don't worry about it, long as I'm here you won't be questioned. Besides, this ship has seen better days and could use some work on the outside." Nickel waved a hand dismissively, not all that concerned any of her fellow DJD members would say anything so long as they knew Steamhammer was just doing his job. "It was on my to-do list anyhow. I swear, if its not their maintenance and personal care I'm concerned with its this ship all its own." She grumbled in annoyance, never being one to miss quipping about it towards those who called the ship home.