Megatron sighs and sets his poetry aside as the intercom on his door signals a visitor.
"Enter," he calls, pushing the button to unlock the door.
"Megatron, I apologize for interrupting your time off-duty, especially as I know you worked an extended shift yesterday due to the fault in the gravitation sensors requiring Rodimus's attention. I would not have disturbed you with work-related matters at this hour--"
"Out with it, Minimus. What happened?"
"There's a bit of a disagreement taking place in the science quarters right now. I was hoping you could settle it before it spirals any further."
"While I appreciate the vote of confidence, I am not a scientist, Minimus. I'm not sure how much help I can be. Unless you need a captain, at which point I assume you would have sought Rodimus as he is the captain currently on duty."
"It's not that. It has to do with some of the mineral specimens brought back from the last planetary expedition."
"If there were concerns about potential biological contamination, proper containment protocols should have been initiated. As I have received no notification of quarantine of the science wing, I assume that is not the issue?"
"No, nothing so serious as that, sir. There's been a disagreement in the classification of some of the specimens; it's becoming quite heated."
"And this requires my attendance in what way, Minimus?"
Minimus shrinks back in the doorway. "Once upon a time, you were a miner, captain. I thought if anyone on the ship could make a definitive identification of the specimens in question, it would be you."
"Very well. Let's go look at some rocks, Minimus."
"I believe that they are minerals, sir. There were no disagreements as to the classification of the rock specimens."
Megatron sighs. His poetry book just keeps feeling farther and farther away. He braces himself before Minimus unseals the door to the lab.
Chaos crashes down around him. Brainstorm is on the ceiling, again, doing something with lasers that almost certainly violates at least three different safety regulations. Nautica is at least on the floor where Robots belong, but he is suspicious of what appears to be a vial of concentrated acid in her hand.
"I hear there is an issue with some recently collected minerals?" Megatron says.
"It's not an issue exactly," Brainstorm says. "There's nothing wrong with it. We just can't agree on exactly what it is."
"I see. So where is this mystery mineral?"
Nautica holds up a chunk of clear, colorless crystal. "Here, Megatron. We've carried out some initial tests. Measurements of dimensions, mass, and topography are on the screen. Density comes out to 2.16g/cm^3. We were just setting up to measure index of refraction when you walked in."
"Is that why Brainstorm is on the ceiling?"
"Minimus wrote me up last week for shining lasers through a doorway. Can't have lasers escaping the lab if they originate from the ceiling and there's a non-reflective surface below them."
"For the record," Minimus says, "standing on the ceiling is also a violation of multiple safety protocols, especially as you do not appear to be using any of the specified personal protective equipment for working from heights. Please come down before I am forced to write you up again."
"But how can we identify the mineral without sufficient data?" Brainstorm counters.
"Still looks like a big hunk of salt to me," Swerve mutters from the corner.
"Brainstorm, come down from there," Megatron orders. "We'll gather that data later should it be necessary. Nautica, may I see that for a minute?"
He takes the crystal and turns it over in his hands. "Hmm, clean cleavage along the exposed faces, appears to be a cubic structure." He holds it up to his eye. "Only one Brainstorm."
"Thank Primus for that," Highbrow mutters behind him.
"Does anyone have a flask and some distilled water?" Megatron asks. "And also a flame. I believe we should test solubility in water, and if soluble, perform a flame test. Perceptor, you do have a spectrometer somewhere in that scope of yours, don't you?"
"Yes. What am I looking for?"
"Wavelengths of peak bands in the emissions spectra. To limit noise, preemptively filter out spectra for any of the halides," Megatron says as he breaks a corner off of the crystal and dissolves it.
"All set," Percy says. "Is there a specific part of the spectrum I should focus on."
"Visible light. I don't want to influence the data by specifying further than that. Do we have a flame in here?"
"That's my cue!" Brainstorm announces. He holds up a finger, and a blue flame flickers from his fingertip. "Built in blowtorch. Isn't it cool?"
"It will do." Megatron dips a wire into the flask and holds it to the flame. For a second, the flames flicker a bright orange yellow. "Perceptor, did you get that?"
"589 and 589.6 nanometers."
"As I suspected. In that case--" he crumbles another corner of the crystal and licks it off of his fingers.
Behind him, Magnus chokes. "You can't just go licking experiments, Megatron! Do you have any idea how many protocols that violates? The safety hazards alone!"
"Megatron, that was the emission spectrum of sodium! Do you know what pure sodium can do?" Brainstorm yells at the same time.
"Salty," Megatron comments. "Your mystery mineral is halite. Also known as sodium chloride, or more colloquially, rock salt."
He turns and leaves in the beat of silence that follows.
Salty: Transformers, MinMegs, G
"Enter," he calls, pushing the button to unlock the door.
"Megatron, I apologize for interrupting your time off-duty, especially as I know you worked an extended shift yesterday due to the fault in the gravitation sensors requiring Rodimus's attention. I would not have disturbed you with work-related matters at this hour--"
"Out with it, Minimus. What happened?"
"There's a bit of a disagreement taking place in the science quarters right now. I was hoping you could settle it before it spirals any further."
"While I appreciate the vote of confidence, I am not a scientist, Minimus. I'm not sure how much help I can be. Unless you need a captain, at which point I assume you would have sought Rodimus as he is the captain currently on duty."
"It's not that. It has to do with some of the mineral specimens brought back from the last planetary expedition."
"If there were concerns about potential biological contamination, proper containment protocols should have been initiated. As I have received no notification of quarantine of the science wing, I assume that is not the issue?"
"No, nothing so serious as that, sir. There's been a disagreement in the classification of some of the specimens; it's becoming quite heated."
"And this requires my attendance in what way, Minimus?"
Minimus shrinks back in the doorway. "Once upon a time, you were a miner, captain. I thought if anyone on the ship could make a definitive identification of the specimens in question, it would be you."
"Very well. Let's go look at some rocks, Minimus."
"I believe that they are minerals, sir. There were no disagreements as to the classification of the rock specimens."
Megatron sighs. His poetry book just keeps feeling farther and farther away. He braces himself before Minimus unseals the door to the lab.
Chaos crashes down around him. Brainstorm is on the ceiling, again, doing something with lasers that almost certainly violates at least three different safety regulations. Nautica is at least on the floor where Robots belong, but he is suspicious of what appears to be a vial of concentrated acid in her hand.
"I hear there is an issue with some recently collected minerals?" Megatron says.
"It's not an issue exactly," Brainstorm says. "There's nothing wrong with it. We just can't agree on exactly what it is."
"I see. So where is this mystery mineral?"
Nautica holds up a chunk of clear, colorless crystal. "Here, Megatron. We've carried out some initial tests. Measurements of dimensions, mass, and topography are on the screen. Density comes out to 2.16g/cm^3. We were just setting up to measure index of refraction when you walked in."
"Is that why Brainstorm is on the ceiling?"
"Minimus wrote me up last week for shining lasers through a doorway. Can't have lasers escaping the lab if they originate from the ceiling and there's a non-reflective surface below them."
"For the record," Minimus says, "standing on the ceiling is also a violation of multiple safety protocols, especially as you do not appear to be using any of the specified personal protective equipment for working from heights. Please come down before I am forced to write you up again."
"But how can we identify the mineral without sufficient data?" Brainstorm counters.
"Still looks like a big hunk of salt to me," Swerve mutters from the corner.
"Brainstorm, come down from there," Megatron orders. "We'll gather that data later should it be necessary. Nautica, may I see that for a minute?"
He takes the crystal and turns it over in his hands. "Hmm, clean cleavage along the exposed faces, appears to be a cubic structure." He holds it up to his eye. "Only one Brainstorm."
"Thank Primus for that," Highbrow mutters behind him.
"Does anyone have a flask and some distilled water?" Megatron asks. "And also a flame. I believe we should test solubility in water, and if soluble, perform a flame test. Perceptor, you do have a spectrometer somewhere in that scope of yours, don't you?"
"Yes. What am I looking for?"
"Wavelengths of peak bands in the emissions spectra. To limit noise, preemptively filter out spectra for any of the halides," Megatron says as he breaks a corner off of the crystal and dissolves it.
"All set," Percy says. "Is there a specific part of the spectrum I should focus on."
"Visible light. I don't want to influence the data by specifying further than that. Do we have a flame in here?"
"That's my cue!" Brainstorm announces. He holds up a finger, and a blue flame flickers from his fingertip. "Built in blowtorch. Isn't it cool?"
"It will do." Megatron dips a wire into the flask and holds it to the flame. For a second, the flames flicker a bright orange yellow. "Perceptor, did you get that?"
"589 and 589.6 nanometers."
"As I suspected. In that case--" he crumbles another corner of the crystal and licks it off of his fingers.
Behind him, Magnus chokes. "You can't just go licking experiments, Megatron! Do you have any idea how many protocols that violates? The safety hazards alone!"
"Megatron, that was the emission spectrum of sodium! Do you know what pure sodium can do?" Brainstorm yells at the same time.
"Salty," Megatron comments. "Your mystery mineral is halite. Also known as sodium chloride, or more colloquially, rock salt."
He turns and leaves in the beat of silence that follows.