Disclaimer: Don't own Transformers
A Helping Hand
They were out to get him.
There was no mistaking the signs.
It was so blatant a sparkling could and would notice.
They thought he was stupid.
They thought that he couldn't and wouldn't connect the dots behind the suspicious activity.
Well they were wrong.
They were so wrong.
And now they knew how badly they fragged up because he knew; he knew exactly what they were up to and there was no way they were going to convince him otherwise.
He thought they were his friends.
Red Alert had, to some extent, trusted them, but it appeared he was wrong, oh so very wrong.
Even Inferno, his dearest Inferno, was on their side.
He was surrounded.
There was nowhere he could go.
He knew he should have made that special escape route for occasions such as this, but Inferno, that traitorous Inferno, told him no. It could be used by spies to sneak into the Security Room undetected.
Inferno was one of the intelligent ones for he was able to make Red Alert trust him enough to be at his side at all times.
How many cubes of energon had he drank without first checking it because Inferno gave it to him?
How many spies and traitors did he let slip through his fingers even though he had enough evidence to turn them in because Inferno assured him they were trustworthy Autobots?
How many security measures had Inferno seen and understood?
Inferno had Red Alert in the palm of his hand, but that was no more.
Red Alert had to fend for himself until someone who wasn't on their side showed up.
It was the only thing he could do.
He knew he wasn't strong or fast enough to get pass them when they crowded the door and that was the only way in or out, Red Alert had made sure of it.
Red Alert opened a secret compartment he had carefully stashed energon away in and removed a single cube before closing it again.
They could wait for as long as they wanted, he had enough energon to last for a long time. They'd have to leave to refuel eventually and when the moment was right, he would slip pass them all and get to the next safe haven.
Inferno didn't know where that was.
In fact, none of them knew where it was.
Once there, he'd get the attention of his most trusted ally, someone who Red Alert knew for certain wasn't and would never be on their side, to help him.
Together, they'd get rid of them or at least get as far away from their influence as they could.
His friend could work around and near them and they'd never think he was against them.
Just as Inferno tricked him, his ally tricked them.
Rung slipped off the ship and into the docking facility before the wreckers even knew he was gone. He had already heard enough warnings from the others to last a lifetime and even though he was a full grown mech, sometimes they treated him as if he was a youngling, but that was because they had grown fond of him and that was their way of showing that they cared.
But the jokes that he was going to get stepped on if he didn't watch where he went was a bit too much. They weren't that much larger than he was.
"I don't want anyone ending up in the brig in the first day." Springer warned, "Even if it means you don't have to attend whatever shifts the tight aft gives."
Kup spoke up, "Let them have their fun. Jazz is holding a party tonight and the more that end up in the brig, the more high grade for everyone else."
Rung wove his way pass the loading and unloading drones and ship maintenance staff with great ease. It wasn't long before he was through the doors and into the much quieter base.
Last time he was here, Wheeljack had told him about a ship that was under construction, the Ark, and was going to know more about it by time they came back from their latest mission.
The tricky part was finding the inventor.
Unlike most, Rung didn't fear a spontaneous explosion while in Wheeljack's presence because he trusted Wheeljack wouldn't put him in that kind of situation without adequate warning. If the inventor wanted to show him an experiment, Rung would stand behind Wheeljack before testing occurred.
Besides, Rung enjoyed Wheeljack's company and he was sure Wheeljack felt the same way about him.
Rung opened the door to the inventing room to find it unoccupied and in one piece.
Seeing how Wheeljack wasn't in there and it wasn't late enough for the inventor to want to sleep, Wheeljack was most likely in the medbay, visiting Ratchet on his own free will, or in the Rec Room.
He might as well visit the medbay seeing how it had been a while since he had seen Ratchet. Last time the medic was in the Rec Room having a drinking competition.
Rung was about to enter the medbay when Ratchet came storming out, "What the pit did they do to him this time?! If it was a fragging stupid prank, I'll make sure the twins are my helpers for the rest of the slagging week!"
Wheeljack came out not very long after Ratchet did, a concerned look in his optics before brightening at the sight of Rung, "You're just in time for the event of the day!"
"It's good to see you. We just got back." Rung replied, "What's going on?"
"Not much." Wheeljack answered, heading in the same direction that Ratchet had gone, "You might want to come as well. You never know how much help will be needed when it comes to Red Alert."
Rung furrowed his brows, a concerned look appearing on his faceplate. "Red Alert?"
"He's new. Red Alert and Inferno transferred in while you were gone on that mission a few months ago. Inferno's his bodyguard and close friend, a red frontliner who's good at putting out fires which was useful for my last two experiments. Red Alert is the head of security. He takes his job seriously, though he's a bit… paranoid." Wheeljack explained as they neared a large crowd. "Inferno's good at keeping his paranoia in check, but from what Ratchet said, Red Alert's not talking to anyone, not even Inferno."
"That's not good." Rung replied.
Ratchet's voice rose above the noise of everyone else. "Jazz, what the frag did you do?!"
"Ah tried hacking the door so we could get in, but Red Alert put even tighter security on it before Ah could even get pass the first fire wall." Jazz answered.
"Come on, Red, let me in." Inferno pleaded to a camera right outside of the door.
The camera moved as if to tell him no.
Rung pushed his way through the crowd and to the door. "Please give us space."
"You heard the mech, move!" Ratchet yelled, getting everyone to do Rung's request in a matter of seconds.
"Red Alert, it's me, Rung. I need you to-"
To the surprise of everyone else, the door opened long enough for Red Alert to come out, snag Rung and retreat back into his lair before the door slid back into place as if nothing happened.
Red Alert resettled into his chair and gestured for Rung to do the same with the vacant seat. "Rung, how did you find me?"
"I've been with the Wreckers for several vorns." Rung replied, "We stop here between missions."
"I'm the security director now." Red Alert proudly stated, "All of this is my work. I'm the reason why we haven't had any problems with Decepticon spies."
"That was a problem last time I was here. You've done a great job."
"I've closed every loophole and gap in the security system of this base. It took a while, but I now see and hear everything that goes on." He gestured to the numerous screens.
"I heard Inferno is a close friend of yours. You must trust him a lot."
"I did until I realized he was one of them. All of them, even Inferno, are working for them. Inferno deceived me, made me trust him with those lying words of his." Red Alert's sensory horns sparked, "You're the Inferno of their group. They trust you, but they don't realize you're on my side. You're the only one I can trust."
"I trust you as well. What makes you think they're here?" Rung questioned, glancing over to the screen in particular Red Alert was looking at.
"There's been suspicious activity. The twins, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, sneak around and set traps. The only other individual here that respects and follows the rules to the letter is Prowl. I suppose he can be trusted, but Jazz is always around him. Jazz tried hacking the door and that's not the only thing he's hacked. He's gotten into the security system on a daily basis, got live footage from my cameras, disabled motion sensors. He's a menace."
"Jazz was trying to get in here to help you." Rung pointed out, "He's also the head of Special Ops. From my understanding, your security system is the best and so he could be using your security system as a way to practice that way he'll get better and faster at hacking into Decepticon security systems. The twins pull pranks to pass the time, they've been like that since they joined the Autobots."
"Everyone's too nice. They care about everyone else. No one should be that friendly and concerned about anyone else."
"It takes a while to get used to, but they do genuinely care about the wellbeing of others. It also helps make the base run smoother and when in battle, the soldiers fight harder to keep everyone else safe."
Red Alert frowned, "Really?"
"Imagine if you were fighting Decepticons and they were winning which mean they'd be able to take over your base." Rung paused, giving Red Alert time to picture it, "If the base is filled with strangers, why risk your life to keep it safe? Wouldn't you rather run away to somewhere to keep yourself safe?"
"Yes."
"Now imagine this base is filled with your family and friends. Would you want to abandon them now?"
"No. I couldn't, they're depending on me."
"Exactly." Rung said with a smile, "That's one of the reasons why it's a good thing to make friends. It hurts when someone you care about dies, but life is more fulfilling when you're surrounded by those you care about. The members of this base may not know you very well yet, but they're trying to make sure that you're safe and comfortable here."
"And Inferno?"
"From what I saw, he cares a lot. He'd fight Megatron and his inner circle alone if they were threatening you without a second thought."
"That's stupid." Red Alert muttered with a small smile, "He'd get himself killed."
"But he'd do it anyway. Ratchet may be intimidating, but he knows what he's doing and will rant at Unicron or Primus if he finds it necessary, especially if it endangers one of his patients. Why do you think the twins will never prank someone in Ratchet's medbay? They might prank Ratchet while in the medbay, but if it affects any of the patients or medical staff while they're working, they know they'll have a one way ticket to the well."
"Thank you." Red Alert smiled right before hugging Rung.
Rung hugged back, "I still have the same comm number if you ever want to chat."
"You'll be hearing from me in the future, but you better come back to visit."
"Of course I will. We come here often." Rung led Red Alert by the hand to the door. "Are you ready?"
Red Alert braced himself, knowing what Rung had said was true and if things went downhill, he'd have Rung at his side. "Yes."