"Prime," Jazz said, sliding into a chair next to Smokescreen in the officer's lounge. "We need to get Prowl outta this base for an orn before he eats Cliffjumper." The Prime looked up from his steaming ration with lifted optic ridges.
Ironhide, always at his side, huffed a tired laugh. "I wouldn't blame 'im." Blaster, on Jazz's other side, grinned. Red Alert, sitting between Ratchet and Ironhide, looked a little concerned, but Ratchet rolled is optics.
"He's certainly at the top of my To Be Eaten list," Smokescreen said, taking a sip of his energon.
Blaster looked at him, confused. "You have a list? Why do you have a list?"
"I like to be prepared," Smokescreen answered.
"Prepared for what?"
"I think we're off topic," Optimus said before Smokescreen responded. Blaster gave Smokescreen a suspicious side optic while the Praxian grinned. The Prime looked at Jazz. "I did notice he's been a bit…"
"Neurotic," Smokescreen supplied. "He's had himself cooped up in Tac too long, he's going sky glitchy." Jazz pointed to Smokescreen and nodded.
"Am I on the list?" Red Alert asked curiously. Blaster snorted while he was trying to drink his ration and wound up coughing and laughing.
"You'll be on my list if you lock yourself in security again this kel," Ratchet growled. Red Alert's brow furrowed while he thought about that. Blaster got his airway cleared enough he could fall back in his chair and fully laugh.
Optimus ignored them. "Do you think you can get things settled enough in the next two orns for him to go out?" he asked Smokescreen.
The senior tactical officer nodded. "The plans for Delta Pyror are being finalized tomorrow. Everything else is in the analysis stage and that's all stuff he can look over any time."
"All right, once Delta is taken care of, notify Jazz and Red Alert so they can drag him out," Optimus said.
Red Alert blinked and looked up. "Me?"
"You need to get out, too, Red Alert," Optimus said. "So Ratchet doesn't eat you."
oOo
Prowl didn't put up even a token argument when Jazz marched into the Tac room two orns later and told him to go outside. Red Alert, waiting by the door, was only a spark beat behind him and Jazz had to jog to keep up.
Planet 6479-E9 was their current Home Away from Home and most of its land mass was mountainous and tropical. Mist hung over the peaks of mountains perpetually keeping them hidden away no matter how bright the sun shone. Three quarters of the planet was land mass and the small ocean surrounding the continents was shallow and prone to tsunamis making it a hostile environment even for Jazz. Per Hound's recommendation, their base perched halfway up one of the many rugged mountains hidden among the heavy foliage from above but with an excellent view of the shimmering blue-green water farther out.
Prowl went straight to a rocky outcropping and leapt without hesitation into the sky. Silver wings unfurled and caught the breeze carrying him higher. Red Alert darted off in the opposite direction, his sharp horns making space for his heavy compact body through the thick undergrowth. "You know, you two can put in vacation time and come out here pretty much whenever, right?" Jazz yelled. "It's not like 'Outside' only happens on special occasions, it's literally always here." Someone, hidden by the thick trees, laughed. Jazz set off at a more leisurely pace in the same direction as Red Alert.
The water was tempting. From high up on the mountain it looked serene, not even whitecaps breaking the turquoise shimmer. But just as he thought that, the waterline pulled back revealing a mosaic of colorful rocks on white sand and slick black strands of vegetation. He paused to watch. The water pulled back even more.
And then it all came roaring back. The wave crested the trees, snapping the old and brittle and bending the young almost flat to the ground. A rumble like thunder rolled through the ground as the wave flooded the valley at the foot of the mountain. For a few breems, everything was underwater, the canopy foliage nothing but a shifting shadow like a giant sea monster from stories. Little by little, the water found its way back to the ocean, dragging trees and stones with it.
Sighing, he continued following the small path the Autobots had forged as they came and went from the base. Red Alert's trail seemed to be running parallel to it. Why the mech didn't just use it Jazz didn't think he'd ever know. High above, leisurely coasting on the breeze, Prowl was a silver shadow against the sky.
Happy to be out of the base, even if he couldn't go for a long swim, Jazz snacked on leaves and berries as he walked and stored more in his various subspace compartments. A lot of the foliage along the path showed similar signs of foraging. The trees missing strips of bark where Kalis had harvested, soft turned dirt where Gyish had dug roots, and most of the sweet new leaves from shrubs had been pinched off. But Jazz meandered a few steps off the path and found a plethora of edible plants.
"I like this place better than the pitforsaken rocky place we were at a decacycle ago," he said conversationally, having no idea if Red Alert was close enough to hear. The amount of vegetation and wildlife played havoc with his latent scanners. He could use more active scanners to find the Gyish but didn't bother. Prowl and Red Alert were supposed to be relaxing. He was there Just In Case. They hadn't found any large native creatures, but Hound and Springer both swore up and down something big was in the trees. It was just shy and avoided all the noise and strange new smells of the base. Personally, Jazz thought Hound and Springer believed there was always something in the trees, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.
The trail curved before it reached the most common flooded area but the soil and vegetation were damp and shiny with fresh water on the trail. This far down the mountain, he couldn't see the water anymore but he knew it was still a few plethron out.
You both need to move up the mountain, Prowl said via comm. link. He sounded much calmer than he had in the last septorn. Another wave is coming in and it is larger than the last.
Jazz spun on his heel and bolted through the underbrush. Branches breaking and rustling on his left told him where Red Alert was. Red Alert, who was built for navigating the forest pulled ahead, but didn't get as far ahead as Jazz knew he could. Jazz's small size helped him get through the heavy foliage but his frame wasn't really meant for outrunning a killer wave over ground.
He veered left where Red Alert was running and found his trail. The Gyish was too far ahead for him to glimpse but he started making better progress. A thunderous rumble grew behind him and the fresh scent of water grew strong. "Red Alert, go!" he yelled. If he got caught by the wave, he had a better chance of surviving. Red Alert wasn't very good in the water under the best circumstances and a tsunami coming in fast enough to uproot trees was not an ideal circumstance.
Red Alert didn't answer but he did make a sudden hard left. "This way Jazz." His disembodied voice came from the screen of green ahead of him and Jazz followed it feeling the rumble in his feet now. The thick vines and shrubs suddenly opened up revealing rough grey rock. Red Alert reached down and grabbed his shoulder as he scrambled up and hauled him up. Prowl came to a landing a little bit higher and folded his wings back. Water rolled through the trees, a frothing mess, and slammed into the rock sending a spray of crisp water and debris over all of them.
"Well," Jazz said after a breem of silence. Flipping his fins and shaking his shoulders he got the leaves and slippery tendrils of ocean vegetation off. Red Alert pulled a leaf off one of his horns and tossed it into the receding waters. Prowl's wings shimmered with water droplets but he didn't shake them off. The tense lines on his face were gone and he looked serene in the warm sunlight.
"There's a small clearing up there," he said pointing up the rough line of rocks they were standing on. Red Alert stretched his toes before spinning around and bounding up the rocks like he'd been sparked and raised on the planet.
"I guess I'll meet you up there," Jazz said without any heat. Prowl smiled and his wings opened up once more as he leapt into the sky.
He took a less direct route than Red Alert as he searched for more berries and leaves. The morning ration never seemed to last more than a couple joors. He popped a few berries in his mouth as he climbed savoring the sweet and spicy juice. The sun was hot on his back but the air was thick with moisture and a gentle yet persistent breeze kept the heat from stifling.
Reaching the top of the rocks he found a small clearing that looked like it had started off as a cave mouth before it collapsed an eon ago. On three sides stone rose up with a dark slash of shadow along the back wall leading deeper into the mountain. Flowering vines cascaded down the left wall while long thorny berry canes grew near the cave entrance and dug into the right wall. Weathered chunks of stone embedded in the ground were covered with soft lichen. Long sweet-smelling grasses waved in the breeze and spread out to the west was an uninterrupted and breathtaking view of the ocean. Jazz paused and stared out at the carpet of green below them that ran straight to the jewel bright water's edge. Massive pillars of limestone rose out of the ocean, remnants of ancient mountains slowly carved away by the relentless water. The breeze came through unobstructed bringing with it the trill of birdsong.
Red Alert lay on his chest in a thick patch of grass staring out at the ocean. The grass around him was tamped down and crushed perfuming the air with its sweet scent. "Did you roll in the grass, like a sparkling?" Jazz asked, rolling onto his back and rubbing his shoulders against the cool grass. Red Alert watched him and snorted once. Jazz rolled over after a breem, smelling good and feeling good.
A shadow passed overhead a second before Prowl came circled back and flew into the clearing, an animal held tight in his claws. "Are you gonna eat that?" Jazz asked, lifting an optic ridge.
"You eat what you like and I'll eat what I like," Prowl countered. He sat farther back so he could stretch his wings out but still close enough to talk. Red Alert pulled a pouch from a hip compartment and scooted a flat rock over to him where he dumped the contents out. A colorful collection of flowers, leaves, and berries tumbled out, most of it on the rock, but some spilling off into the grass around it.
Jazz didn't have a bag, but he did pull out his own collection and settled it into the grass next to him. He didn't look back to see how Prowl was enjoying his lunch. The crunch of bones being crushed in his powerful jaws was all the information he needed. Comfortable quiet settled over the clearing.
oOo
A/N: I was thinking about Thailand this morning and decided this cold, rainy week needed some summer sunshine and warmth.
Here's hoping Spring makes an early appearance, but until then, thank you for Reading, Reviewing, Following, and Favoriting!