Prowl’s not sure exactly when the headache started, but he knows it crossed the line from “tolerable” to “near-impossible to think through” somewhere in the second hour of firearms training. Really, he should have let Optimus know he needed his recertification postponed, but if he had done that, it would mean shuffling his schedule around even more down the road, and at the time, that had seemed the greater evil.
Next time, he notes, he will consider his choices a bit more carefully. Next time, he will try to remember exactly how bad his headaches can get.
He’s been taking medication for them since his Enforcer days, but it doesn’t do much more than take the edge off. Ratchet had tried to find a more permanent solution to no avail. According to him, the headaches are caused by strain on his tacnet. Rather, because his generic cold-constructed frame wasn’t designed to handle the increased heat generated by his onboard tactical computer, metal swells with the heat and the pressure causes these headaches. Fortunately, that means the solution is relatively simple. He just needs some time to himself and a cold compress.
He just needs to make it through this last hour of paperwork.