A/N: This is the first story I've posted on this site so reviews and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is welcome (we can all use help to improve our writing) but please no flames. They will just be ignored. This story also focuses a lot on my own characters so if you don't like them then don't read. If you do read then thanks a lot!
OllCat217
Blackout was sat quietly at her desk, quietly putting bullets into clips and quietly putting the clips into the box. She hated this dead-end job but it was the only thing they would let her do. She wanted to fly. But she knew that would never happen. There was no point dwelling on the past. She turned back to her bullet pile, all thoughts of flight forcibly pushed out of her head.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder.
"What?" she snapped irritably. Work put her in a bad mood anyway and standing over her shoulder was one of those perverts from across the hall. One who's optics were glued to her chest.
"Voltage wants to see you. Outside hangar 21. Now." he said, still not looking up. Blackout got up, pushed him aside and stalked off without another word.
Blackout met Voltage outside hangar 21. She was still in a bad mood. She didn't appreciate Voltage sending starers to deliver messages.
"Do you really think sending starers to deliver messages is something the temporary Decepticon commander should be doing?" she asked him as she approached.
"I didn't know he was one of those." Voltage replied.
"Most mechs are now. You wanted to see me?" Blackout sighed.
"Yes. A little scraplet told me that you always wanted to be a pilot. That you still do." he said.
"Depthcharge!" Blackout snarled. "If I ever get my hands on him-"
"You'll be civil." Voltage finished. "Can you just listen for a nanoclick? I've got a proposition for you."
Blackout suddenly became interested. If Voltage had mentioned piloting, then maybe she might get to fly after all...
"I'm listening." she said.
"I want you to captain a ship. I know you never finished your Academy training but Depthcharge said you had natural talent by the bucketload. We also need all our regular pilots for the war effort." Voltage said.
"How do you know about the Academy?" Blackout hissed, instantly suspicious.
"I read your file. Don't worry, you need Level 2 security to access it." he reassured.
"But I don't have Level 2 security!"
"So?"
"It's my file!"
"Are you two coming in or are you just gong to stand there bickering all solar cycle?"
While the two of them had been talking the hangar doors had been opened and a stranger had emerged. He was black, silver, purple and all sharp angles.
"I'm Shockwave. Ship's medic." he said, shaking hands with Blackout. "You must be the captain."
"I'm Blackout." she replied.
Formalities exchanged, the trio walked into the hangar. Inside there was a small, battered spaceship. On the side, written in peeling letters, was the name Tagan Heights.
"That's my ship?" Blackout cried in disbelief.
"She's the only ship we have free that's safe to fly. All the others are either shot down, captured or in active service. According to Shockwave, she's perfect for our needs." Voltage said, trying to placate her.
"What needs?" Blackout snapped, frustrated that nobody was giving her a straight answer.
"You will be transporting a...precious cargo to Megatron." Voltage said.
"And I suppose the exact contents of this cargo are secret?" Blackout said. They both nodded. "And I suppose you both know what it is."
There was a pause, then they both nodded.
"But it's just us two and Megatron in the know." Shockwave said. He took hold of Blackout's arms to stop her stalking off in disgust. "Come on. Let me show you around."
"I don't want everyone knowing you know what this cargo is and we don't. It could create some unwanted tensions." Blackout said as they headed up the entry ramp. What she really wanted though was for the crew to understand exactly who was in charge. The captain, not the medic.
"Okay." Shockwave replied. He opened the airlock and led Blackout inside.
The command centre was the oddest place Blackout had ever set foot in. The bizarre mix of old and new technology disorientated her and she almost fell backwards down the entry ramp. Shockwave neatly caught her.
"Steady!" he cried "You're just a bit confused. It's overwhelming. I had the same reaction when I first came in here. Come and sit in your chair."
Blackout felt weirdly tingly as Shockwave put his arms around her and settled her in the captain's chair. She didn't quite understand it, but she liked it. But she was too nervous to ask Shockwave. He wouldn't care; they were Decepticons after all. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind like so many others. Instead, she turned her attention to sorting out the jumbled mess of technology.
"One warning: the throttle is on the left instead of on the right and the hyperdrive convertor needs fixing." Shockwave warned, sitting down on her left. She began to familiarise herself with the controls.
"Why is it such a mess?" Blackout asked.
"Older ship. New technology. They have to update it sometimes." Shockwave replied. Their hands were almost touching...
"Chief engineer Vortex reporting for duty, captain."
Blackout spun around. The Decepticon who had called himself Vortex was standing in the doorway. He looked young, but his shoulders were stooped and his red gaze dull, like an experienced warrior who'd witnessed the horror of battle too many times. And to add to this impression, he had four broad scars running left to right down his face. He said no other word to them, he just turned around and walked, no, limped into the shadowy bowels of the ship.
"What's wrong with him?" Blackout asked, stunned. She looked over at Shockwave, who looked equally bemused.
"I don't know. Perhaps he could have been a sparkling soldier..." Shockwave said, his voice trailing into nothingness.
"Why don't you know?" Blackout asked. "I thought you had access to the files."
"I was only allowed to read yours. Only Voltage and Megatron know. If they bothered to look." Shockwave replied.
Blackout was beginning to relax. She had the bones of a crew now, even if some members were a bit...unstable. She sat back in the chair and sighed.
"Feeling better, huh?" Shockwave asked. Blackout nodded. "Budge up."
He squeezed in next to her.
"You know, if there's anything wrong, anything troubling you, you can come to me." he said. "And it doesn't have to be for anything medical."
Blackout nodded and put her head on his shoulder. Then the whole ship began to shake.
"QUATRAIN CRYING!" bellowed something from the entry ramp.
"What the slag is going on?" Vortex cried, having re-emerged when the shaking started. The shaking got worse. Suddenly something massive barrelled into the control room, knocking over what appeared to be a pillar. But as the dust cleared, it became clear to all that the pillar was alive.
"Happy tears, Lugnut, happy tears!" it cried. At first neither Shockwave nor Blackout could tell if it was a mech or a femme. It had the figure of a slim mech, but it sounded so feminine when it talked that it was impossible to tell.
"Oops. Sorry." the big one said, getting up. He was definitely male.
"Hello." it said. "I'm Quatrain. Delighted to meet you, captain Blackout."
"I'm Lugnut." the other grunted. "He's Quatrain."
So Quatrain was a mech.
"Why were you crying?" Blackout asked.
"You two! Spilling your deepest desires to each other. So romantic!" Quatrain cried. He sniffed twice, then regained his composure. "Sorry."
"Um...we...we weren't spilling our deepest desires." Shockwave replied.
"Subconsciously you were. Don't try and deny what you don't know what you were doing." Quatrain said.
"How can you tell?" Vortex asked, stunned. Quatrain tapped the side of his nose and sat at the comms desk. He began to bring the radar and radio online. Everybody else went back to their stations, except Lugnut. He was just stood in the centre of the control room clutching a small silver statue. Blackout couldn't see what it depicted. Quatrain got up and led Lugnut over to the security chief's desk and strapped him down.
"When we get into space I'll see if I can fix the hyperdrive convertor. The engine itself is fine but-" Vortex began, but Blackout interrupted.
"As long as you can fix it, I don't need to know the details." she said. Vortex turned back to his calculations. Then behind him he heard footsteps.
"Captain..." he said slowly. Blackout turned. Standing by the hatch was a new crew member. He looked nervous, small and diminished, like everyone in the room was going to turn on him. But that wasn't the first thing Blackout noticed about him. The size of his pack, lumpy and practically bursting, was so obvious it was a wonder he'd got it past security. He set it down very gently just inside the airlock.
"What is in there?" Quatrain whispered to Shockwave, who was closest to him.
"No idea! We were allowed to bring our stuff but that's just ridiculous!" he replied. Blackout listened to their theories with interest. She had recognised him the moment he walked into the dodgy lighting. Finally Voltage had chosen someone she already knew. He walked up to the co-pilot's chair. He froze when he saw her.
"Blackout?" he said, astonished.
"Darkscream!" She cried, leaping up and hugging him. "How are you?"
"How do you know him?" Shockwave asked.
I was a year above her in the Decepticon Academy. I used to help her with her mathematics." Darkscream explained. "Then, shortly after I left, she vanished from the records."
"You went to the Decepticon Academy?" Vortex gasped, turning to face Blackout. "How come you ended up on a dead-end mission like this?"
"Let's just go." Blackout said through gritted teeth. She never wanted to go through her Academy experience again, even if it was inside her own head. She shook her head to clear her thoughts before placing her hand on the throttle. She pushed.
A deep rumble began in the engines and slowly spread through the ship. The whole thing began to tip slowly backwards into the launch position. The hangar roof slowly clunked open, revealing the inky blackness of space.
The ship pushed off the platform and launched itself towards Megatron.