The little mech seemed different, but maybe they all had.
It always started the same way: He had stood there, watching the Autobot patrols, when one of them, the youngest, newest one, looked right at him.
Usually, they jumped and shouted, asking what was there or calling for their commanding officer with panic in their voices.
This one hadn't.
This one had turned and asked, in a voice as smooth as metal, "Did anyone else see that? No? Something moved behind that pillar."
The little bronze mech was just like all the others, though, underneath his calm demeanor. As soon as Bumblebee dismissed his concerns, he sneaked off toward Soundwave, passing through him, shuddering. Soundwave started back toward camp, and the mech followed.
This one might have been braver than the others, or maybe he was more foolish. He didn't cry out at every noise behind him, or jump when he saw a patrol. He turned and looked every time Soundwave got too close, and a few times he asked, calm, "Is somebody there?"
Soundwave wouldn't have answered if he could, of course.
The little bronze mech evaded detection by the guards far longer than the others, mostly owing to his small size and silence. Soundwave found himself rooting for him in a way he hadn't for the others, cheering for this so-called Autobot to make a breakthrough, a discovery.
Something in Soundwave's spark fell as a hulking shape launched out of the shadows at the little mech, finally ripping a terrified scream from him as he slammed into a wall. When Soundwave saw who had pinned his latest plaything, he almost looked away.
"Another Autobot spy?" he asked, bearing down on the little bronze mech.
"No, Not a spy, Lord Galvatron, sir!" the bronze mech answered, speech frantic, his voice big for his little body.
"Oh? Then what are you? The last two didn't have an answer."
"I'm a field duty archivist attached to Bumblebee's Guard, sir!"
Soundwave drew in closer, listening. The other two hadn't been so articulate when finally they did answer.
"An archivist, hm?" He made no sound, made no change in position, but Soundwave could almost see it: an imperceptible loosening of Galvatron's grip on the smaller bot. "What is an archivist doing in Decepticon territory except to spy?"
"I was investigating something that I believe may be a threat to the Decepticons, sir!"
"What is your name, little archivist?"
"Schema, sir."
"Schema. A strange name for a strange bot." Galvatron leaned in, optic to optic, as the little mech's face contorted in fear. "Something must be defective in your circuits to lie to my face and think you'll make it back to Autobot territory in one piece."
Then the little face steeled, fear melting away, features relaxing. He set his square little jaw. "It doesn't matter if I make it back as long as you know something weird's is going on near the border."
"It doesn't matter? Why doesn't it matter?"
"Because if this peace is going to last there can be no secrets, and Bumblebee knew something was wrong. I could see it on his face. But he told me it was nothing."
Galvatron gave the subtlest roll if his eye, and Soundwave longed to mimic the gesture. Still, Galvatron kept up the act. "So what did you see on the border, little archivist?"
"A face, sir. Just a ghost of one, just for a second. Yes, I couldn't tell if it was a visor or a faceplate but-"
Galvatron slammed him into the wall. "You broke into Decepticon territory for a ghost story? You fool! Do you know the penalties for trespassing?"
"Yes sir." The little mech stared at him. "I know the penalties."
"Then you are willing to—"
"Take it easy on this one, will you, Galvatron?" came a new familiar voice, a ghost's voice. Even Soundwave looked up to see the yellow mech approach, confident, relaxed. "He's a little sensitive."
Galvatron dropped him, and Schema slid to the ground, falling sideways and staring up at the Autobot leader. Galvatron turned to him as well. "Ah, Bumblebee, come to pick up your spy?"
"I don't know what's getting into them." The leader shrugged.
"This one saw a face. This one was coherent." Galvatron looked down at him. "This one seemed intelligent. I don't like this. You are not foolish enough to send spy after spy sneaking around the Decepticon Zone and then pretend you did not do it. They must be telling the truth."
"They are. Although I don't see why there needs to be a Decepticon Zone. All you really do is call the other representatives out when they want to do something stupid."
That earned an irritable huff from the old leader. "Consider us your loyal opposition. If there had been a movement to oppose the excesses of the system that preceded you, we might not have rebelled."
Bumblebee nodded, and at Galvatron's feet, Schema's eyes widened, mouth falling open into a silent "Oh."
"As long as you stay a loyal opposition, I guess I can't argue with that." Bumblebee started to stay something else, but Galvatron cut him off.
"One of those stupid things the Autobots are doing is sending clumsy, ineffectual spies into my territory. Why?"
"I'm not sending them. They're just going." Bumblebee looked away. "I can't count the times Raf and Jack and I snuck off because we thought we'd make a bigger difference that way. It's what kids do."
"I don't like this, Bumblebee. You are hiding something." Galvatron stepped close to him, looking down, and Bumblebee stared up at him, calm.
"I don't have anything to hide," Bumblebee answered, and Soundwave scoffed.
"What is this, then? Why does one member of every patrol of our borders end up skulking into my territory, looking for ghosts?"
Schema answered, "Because maybe there are ghosts, and maybe all the old bots have convinced themselves there can't be?"
Both of the older mechs turned to glare at the small bot, who recoiled with a sheepish smile.
"Schema? You need to learn to keep your mouth shut. Trust me, it's not as bad as it seems." There was a little edge in Bumblebee's voice, and Soundwave wondered what might become of the little mech who would have saved him.
As the older mech wandered over, kneeling down to help the smaller one up, Galvatron watched them, face unreadable even to Soundwave. As they passed by him, Bumblebee's arm around the upstart's shoulder, Galvatron reached out and snagged the old scout by the arm.
"This one said claims he is an archivist. The last one carried the name 'Pax.' This isn't a coincidence, Bumblebee."
"Well, it's not subterfuge, either. Maybe he's trying to tell us something?"
As Bumblebee walked away, as Galvatron's arm slowly felt to his side, Soundwave resigned himself to oblivion. There would be no more Autobot incursions into Megatron's little territory, no more suggestions that maybe someone might have seen him. He finally allowed him himself to look down at the ground.
"A visor, he said," Galvatron mused. Then he said, a little louder, the weight of command in his voice. "Soundwave, I cannot hear or see you… but you have some explaining to do."