Glimpse into the Past: Ratchet

Gosh, I love drawing Ratchet! Especially his trods (feet) and waistline for whatever reason...

Ne-who, this image was intended to compliment this piece of self-fanart that I posted some time ago:

There isn't much information about Ratchet's past on the 'net other than he made a name for himself during the Praxian Stalemate (Exodus), and assisted Optimus, Jazz, Prowl, and Bumblebee in the later half of the war.

Other than that...nothing.

So, I had to use a bit of artistic license...

And yet compiling a history for him was...difficult, to say the least. Who we are in the present can be directly traced back to who we were when we were younger. I wanted to do Ratchet's character justice by giving him an interesting background that would really develop his character without being overly ridiculous or fanciful.

So, this is what I came up with.

Ratchet and his three siblings did not emerge as protoforms from the Well of Allsparks. They were created by the proprietor of the Iacon Medical Technical Service Center to function as assistants, and brought to the well as shells to receive their sparks.

As the time passed...Ratchet began to tire of his profession. After four thousand vorns, the work no longer challenged him; and unlike his siblings, he wasn't content to just press on. Furthermore, as insecure as he was, he had a difficult time convincing himself of his usefulness when it seemed as though no one really cared about anything he did--it wasn't uncommon for those in the upper tiers to treat him and other "low-techs" with contempt.

For a time, Ratchet found himself spiraling deeper and deeper into despair, and often took to heavy drinking at Maccadam's to numb the pain.

It was here, that he happened upon Servo, an up-and-coming ground bridge engineer who, like Ratchet, found something missing in his caste assigned duties. The engineer took an immediate liking to Ratchet, specifically the tech's desire for a more peaceful approach to change (unlike other "discontents" who advocated violence). Taking him under his wing, Servo began to teach Ratchet everything that he knew about ground bridges. The subject matter fascinated Ratchet, and the young mech soon became engrossed in the topic, as a sort of side project as he continued with his caste assigned duties.

Pulling a few strings with his boss, Servo was able to grant Ratchet some limited access to the Hall of Records where he would meet and befriend a young clerk named Orion Pax.

As the Golden Age drew to a close, more and more "discontents" began appearing all over Cybertron. Some of these 'bots advocated an all out abandonment of the old caste system with violence (the majority), and others, like Orion, desired a more peaceful transition. Confiding in Orion that conflict seemed inevitable, the young clerk assisted by his friend Jazz were able to get Ratchet additional clearance in the hall of records so that he could study medical history--something he felt would be more useful should war actually break out. Ratchet proved so adept at it that it attracted the attention of an old, and infamous surgeon--Relay. Relay, having a fair amount of clout with the upper castes, convinced the powers that be to take Ratchet on as his pupil.

Ratchet would be Relay's apprentice--and eventually shield, once the war broke out--until the Praxian Stalemate when he was eventually promoted to field medic status. He was transferred to the Iacon clinic where he was granted his first shield Gamma, and eventually, Io.

There are more details, but that's good for now. Plot bunnies are nipping at my brain and I may end up writing this out at a separate story (along with Io's past).

Link to War and Wings (my fanfiction that inspired this image, and the history):