Transformers Prime

Takes place after "New Recruit"

Why They Call Her Angel

A dull mechanical hum was the only sound in the small area, the shine from multiple computer screens the only source of light in the place. The slim little figure in the over sized chair, clearly not fitted for her, being the only sign of life. She sat poised at the desk full of electronics busily tapping at the keys, fingers a blur of motion. As her blue orbs scanned the computer screen she took in every word and image as she scrolled past them swiftly, mind a computer all her own. Pausing, one slender digit absently traced circles over the arm of the chair as she processed the information as she switched networks as easily as she would blink.

There was a limit to how long she could remain on this frequency before being discovered. It was a hassle, but she was forced to constantly change her channels and frequencies to avoid the watchful eyes she knew would be behind the other screen. Thus far, she had not been detected but she knew full well that the first mistake she made, the first indication of a hacker, and Soundwave would have her blocked more ways than there were stars... not to mention pinpointing her location. This brilliant hacker was so good she avoided even those eyes, but she knew it would not last forever. Her skills were higher than most any hacker in her time, but even she had her limitations. While she was in, she had to scan absolutely as much as she could get.

She already had a lot, practically everything the silent mech had record of since coming to earth, but she needed it all. If her plans were to work, she had to get every ounce of information in that highly sophisticated system. She now knew more than anyone else about the Decepticon's movements, but she had yet to find out a few key things she had to know. There was much that they all had to learn about the Iacon data. Other things interested her as well, such as the movement of the Deceticon space bridge. As of yet, nothing had been done with it, but it was something to keep an eye on. She always liked to keep an eye out in the event she needed the information later, it was how she always worked.

Hacking the Autobot system was far easier than running under Soundwave's radar - Even for her it was a challenge. Swiftly, she cut her location to bounce to another, pinging off several before settling on one. Her slender digits reached out for her cup and pulled it to her lips for a sip of the blue liquid. Learning all this had been both informative and interesting. Knowing what the Autobots and Decepticons had been doing on earth was a revelation, to say the very least. She somewhat enjoyed searching the Decepticon's files most not only for the presented challenge, but because of the complexity of the Decepticon's themselves. Dynamic was the only word she could come up with for their little group.

Obviously, Megatron was of real interest. The ex-gladiator turned wicked ruler was a remarkable subject to analyze. Though, honestly, she did not know how his actions could have shocked Iacon. Anyone should have been able to predict the events through simple deduction. His essential tantrum at not being picked as Prime was predictable. How had they expected different from someone raised up in a world of 'kill or be killed', show no mercy, and win at all costs? Factor in his lifestyle and add on the sudden praise and fame he received as a gladiator favorite, salted with an ego the size of earth being stuffed. . . he was bound to eventually believe his own hype and forget that the world did not really revolve around him and only him. Could such conditioning produce anything different? Could you expect someone raised as an assassin to take rejection well? Hardly.

Moreover, how had they not seen his assent to power coming in a world where all but the select few were suppressed? The world was ripe for the taking and Megatron was a silver tongue warrior perfect for the job. They were ready and willing to listen and follow him. She shifted slightly in the seat, the three long metal strip extensions hanging from either side of her shoulders grazed over the floor with the motion - the round peacock like eyelets that lined them flashed for a split second in response. Anyone should have seen things coming. She liked to analyze things, it was just how she was. As the signal continued to ping off a few towers her mind continued to ponder the issues, the fall of Cybertron, as she came to understand.

Megatron was interesting if not mildly understandable or predictable. However, his second in command was a prize for any analytical mind, and one she could not help sympathizing with for many reasons. Granted, she could not say she cast in with him or even agreed with any of his choices, but he was hard not to pity. Starscream's displayed behavior seemed really very classic of long term abuse victims and she would wager, though she do not know his official history, that he was prone to be abused long before Megatron entered the picture. It was clear not only in the way he was recorded flinching at sudden movement or cowered before Megatron, but many other ways.

Children of abuse never grew up knowing kindness or love and so they tended to shift into a more survivalistic mind set. They do or say whatever they have to to survive and tend to become very skilled at it. However, they never developed trust in anyone, so they can hardly trust a living soul even though they long to have one person they could believe in. They long for a connection they could trust but do not believe they will even find one... and it was visible in just how many times Starscream had attempted to align himself with others, even going so far as to try to join the oh so hated spider femme. He always was betrayed, a bit like an inescapable circle of abuse because he was always drawn to abusive types because they were familiar figures. His one attempt at joining the Autobots was the closest he came to picking a kinder faction to trust in.

Another common thing was that they had a deep set need to be in control and have the power they had never been allowed. They have been abused by those with power so it is the one thing they see as safety - 'If you have power, no one can pick on you, thus, if I had the power no one could hurt me anymore.' Starscream's crazed desire for power at all costs, and constant bragging in an attempt to prove how strong he was seemed to cry out of his longing to escape the cage of abuse he felt so vividly.

"Hello there..." Her smoothly feminine voice came out in a whisper that rippled the previous silence only slightly.

Her glowing blue optics focused more on the screen as she saw that silent purple and black mech, Soundwave, was at work on something again. Her slender silver servos itched as she watched his motion appearing on her screen. Slowly, her smooth denta slid over her lower derma as she watched with wide optics. He was decoding the Iacon data again, she noted. The Autobots might also know what he was up to by now thanks to the virus they secretly placed in his system. She was not the only one learning from him, but she was closer, monitoring from the ship itself. They might be a little distracted with the arrival yesterday of the Autobot, Smokescreen. Then again, they might be rather busy with Bulkhead's issues as well. For the moment, she might be the only one monitoring Soundwave.

Her intake fans kicked to a dull cycle from the sudden stress to her system. Humans blushed or got sweaty palms when nervous, as she recalled from her research, but her fans were what gave away her nerves. One servo moved to absently rub the light blue wing shaped accent that served to protect her cheek plate. A nervousness always kicked in whenever he was working at the same time she was. It made her margin for being detected so much higher. Her spark always pulsed a little at the excitement and pending dread. Some part of her inner and long gone sparkling always wanted to run and hide when she saw him at the other end of the keys. Her helm tilted the the side as she watched the screen, the long blue spike that ran up from between her optic ridges flashed in reflection of the light. Still, his careful records were the reason she had any idea what had gone on since she had been... away, so she felt an odd gratitude to him in that regard.

The ever watchful Third was a mystery still. Try as she might, getting information on him was like an impossible task. Even the ship computer held almost no information on him. However, his unquestioning loyalty was intriguing. Either he was incapable of turning from his leader by some potential programming error, or he had a good reason for staying loyal - Perhaps even hidden motives all his own. The latter was a worry considering how much power Soundwave possessed. Megatron would have fallen long ago without his third in command running and managing everything behind the scenes. It was hard to tell where Soundwave left off in power and Megatron began. The third was like an extension of the leader; his eyes, ears, and hands.
Still, the motive for it was a puzzle. It could have all been tied to loyalty or perhaps some debt Soundwave owed the gladiator, but the current information was not enough to determine that. In any case, she would not ponder the issue further for now. The Cybertronian flooding the screen was enough to keep her attention. Considering she had worked in Iacon, these were a decent bit easier for her to decode than for him. Her upper body leaned forward as she began to focus. It was a habit, the more she focused, she tended to lean closer until she was nearly on top of it.

"Another Relic from Iacon!" She mused, a mild smirk edged at the corners of her mouth, knowing she was ahead of Soundwave. "I believe it is now time to begin."

With a flick of her servo, she severed the connection and switch her tiny ship into flight mode, heading for a place she knew from her time spent in the Autobot computer. It was time, while she had something to offer as collateral, to greet them. She could hope they allowed her in with this information she was about to hand them. She was fast at decoding, always had been, so she knew she was ahead of both Soundwave and even the Prime, or she might be at least. This was the perfect timing to begin the next stage. She welcomed this long awaited chance to gain entry to the Autobot base. It had been too long a wait.

Once again, here he was, vulnerable... without a T-cog and now without the Apex Armor. The Seeker let out a quiet growl to himself as he thought over the events. The worst thing, or close to worst, was that a rookie was the one to best him out of it. It would have been slightly more dignifying had it at least been the Prime. Instead, his saving grace was stripped by a mech with no battle experience. It was enough to make Starscream... well, scream. It was humiliating to say the very least. He was sick of everything he did backfiring.

After having the relic stolen from them and nearly having lost the red energon to him, though it was all gone now, the Autobots decided it would be safer to just imprison him than allow him to run free. He was an enemy they thought better out of the way. Optimus, in all him sickly kindness, also decided the seeker himself would be safer here. His Prime spark could not seem to leave the runaway to die. The leader could tell how desperately he was in need of energon, seeing clearly that he had been living off the scraps he found in the stripped mines. Without the Apex, the Prime knew he would be dead in the water once Dreadwing caught up to him, which he would have. The over sized hunk of metal, grit, and pride would surely be after his head for stealing the armor to start with. Rediculously loyal as he was, he would bring him back to the ship for execution for sure. Why did he have to be such a do-gooder?

His long set of claws curled into a fist, slender face twisted in anger, and red optics blazing. His wings flexed and tightened a bit as he worked to control his rage. If he had just been a little faster, or if only he had been able to use that red energon right then, but no. Nothing could ever simply go his way. Though, being watched by the very same rookie that beat him was not at all helpful to maintaining any sort of calm exterior. That smug expression on Smokescreen's masculine, unscarred, young face was a little more than any ex-commander could endure. Being babysat by the mech he lost to was a blow to his ego that could almost outweigh being captured in the first place. He should be the one flaunting a victory in the Autobot's faces, not this little sparkling of a solder. He was the commander, or ex-commander, of the entire Decepticon army, for Primus sake! The already small room of the base was made decidedly smaller by the annoying Autobot. The indignities never ceased. He was tired of it, so very tired of it.

"If you really must stand there, it is really necessary to stare at me that way?" The Seeker crooned in his usual gravely, superior, yet oddly smooth voice.

"Well," Smokescreen, a grounder mech nearly as cocky as the seeker, smirked, "I am supposed to be watching you, even if you are so pitiful that you could not threaten a newly sparked Insecticon. I already beat you once, so I guess they thought I should be around to remind you of how easily I beat you down the first time."

Starscream bristled inwardly, but maintained his condescending expression, "Cliffjumper was cocky, just like you. You remind me of him in your mannerisms."

Smokescreen's white faceplate took on a puzzled look as he posed the question begging to be asked, "Who is Cliffjumper?"

"Was. You mean who was Cliffjumper." The seeker tilted his head slightly, a coy smile playing at his mouth, "And Cliffjumper was an Autobot full of attitude... and he talked a lot, like you. One of the Prime's soldiers here." His smile turned sinister, tone arcing lower for emphasis, "That is, right before I used these claws to slice his stupid little Autobot spark."

Even though Starscream was in stasis cuffs, the younger bot could not help eyeing to claws warily, "I... don't believe you."

A chuckle rose in the Decepticon's vocalizer, red optics glaring a challenge at the other, "Just ask Arcee if I'm telling the truth or not... he was her partner. They should really have warned you about something like that before making you my guard... how careless of them."

Smokescreen glared at him, clearly unsure whether to believe him or not. Most likely, his processor was working over all sorts of ideas and scenes regarding those words. However, the seeker's main goal was accomplished, and he knew it. The confidence in the younger mech had clearly taken a hard blow judging by the way he was now eyeing the stasis cuffs and by the sudden lack of bravado. At last, there was some silence. The taste of victory he had been longing for all day. It was small, but at least it made him feel a little more in control again. He had to take a win where he could get it in this life.

In some ways, though, he was glad of being here. Were it Megatron he would be scrap. No, he would be scrap after long horrific amounts of torture. Megatron was not the kindest to traitors, to say the least. If he had to be caught, he was glad it was them. At least they were less likely to torture him in many ways other than humiliation. He shuddered to think how his time would be currently if he was back on the Nemesis. He had a hunch his wings would have been ripped off about this time considering Megatron knew of the terror that would be to him. A seeker without wings was worse than dead even if he could not fly. Still, he could not help verbally lashing out at his captor for the slight amount of control it gave him.

The femme made her way to where she knew Optimus would be. After making a fast check of the Autobots location, she knew where to find him. He was very close to the base in Jasper, though not right beside it, something to do with scouting. He was the only one she looked for, she had not bothered to check anything further. Ordinarily, she would have checked their activity for the day and found all of them, but she was in a rush- She had not checked on them since she found they had a new recruit and made sure he was not a Decepticon spy that would complicate her life. Catching Optimus alone so she could talk with him without interruption was best. He, like herself, was far more reason centered than the rest of his team. The leader was easier to win over than the rest of his group by far. Not to mention easier for a logic based, quiet femme like herself to talk openly with. She would not have enjoyed explaining things to the high strung and grouchy Ratchet, or the suspicious Arcee.

Slim, sleek pedes crunched over the dirt as she raced for the location, rocks kicking up behind her as she went. As of yet, she had not seen fit to take on a vehicle form and she was not at all convinced she wanted to. Something in her was against the idea even though she knew full well the Prime would insist if he allowed her to stay with his group. She, however, might fight him on that point. Taking on such a form was unneeded when she was capable of moving on her own struts. Picking a form to her liking would be impossible considering she cared nothing at all for any vehicles she had seen on the planet. The idea of hiding was fine, but she simply did not intend to be seen so it should be good enough.

This is what she liked, the feel of wind over her body and earth under her, strips at her back swaying lazily behind her. The mostly silver body gleamed in the sun as she ran like a comet. Her body was naturally wind resistant, a body made for gliding, slightly like a seekers. On occasion back on Cybertron, she had been mistaken for a seeker, thought to be one of few surviving seeker femme of the time. In a few battles she played a part in she knew some reports had her down that way. It was easy to understand though, considering her weapons appearance. Her weapon of choice was something she herself created... parts of its designs were inspired by a seeker, though only the design, not the function. On the rare occasions when she had call to use her developed device, she was unsure if either side remembered what occurred after it activated.

As a more creative type, prone to science and long times behind computers, she had never been much for battles. She was all smooth lines, curves, and edges. Even Arcee was larger than she was by a slight amount. Though she could dodge and avoid hits, returning them was not her most shining subject, thus, she found a way to level the field. No one touched a servo to her after she created-

Her optics focused on the large blue and red mech in the distance below her. He stood tall and imposing even though she was on one of the humans rocky cliffs and he was in a dipping rift below. She was far above him but it seemed as if he was still larger than life. His wide, red, symbol adorned shoulders already looked to be as big as her whole body. His hugely broad shoulder, thick limbs, and towering height compared to her small but pointed shoulders, thin and breakable limbs, and relatively petite body was slightly overwhelming. Had she let herself, she would have marveled at how frightening a foe he was, but if she dwelled, she would be staying up here. If he attacked her before she could arm her weapon, she would indeed be offlined.

Without further thought on the matter, she launched into the air, the wing shaped bar above her spark, extensions down her back, and winged sections at the cheeks of her helm made a whistling sound for a moment as she descended. Sliding herself into position, the wind resistance acted almost as a net to slow her into as near a glide as a non-flier could come. Her pedes touched the ground a moderate distance from the leader, graceful flow and motion making her landing seem more like a bird coming in from the sky.

His sharp optics had found her before she even touched the ground, following her as if he was taking in her every weakness. He seemed to have analysed her fully by the time she hit the ground. Those pure blue, yet terrifying optics stared at her with a hint of curiosity. Though the Prime seemed ready to bring out his weapon, he made no move to do so for the time. Even so, she moved ahead slowly and casually to ensure she gave him no reason for alarm. He towered over her like the mountains in this place, strong shining arms alone enough to crush her. His thick, rounded servos could easily snap her in two.

The sleek little femme tipped her helm respectfully in greeting, placing one servos over her spark, "Optimus Prime, I am Skyfreeze... also known as Skyangel." She lifted her head to meet his optics, "I am pleased to make your acquaintance at last."

The great mech's dark shaded optic ridges turned down minutely, his smooth and strong voice as even as the horizon, "Greetings to you as well." For lack of needing to introduce himself in return, he simply cut to the chase, as she had done, "How might I assist you, Skyfreeze?" His glowing orbs made a swift search of her then returned to her face again after having found neither a Decepticon symbol nor Autobot.

The small femme took no offense at the act considering it was only too natural for him to seek a way to read her intentions. "I wish to join you, quite simply." She slowly lifted her hand held device, pointing one servo to the screen where a decoded message was displayed, "And I have also brought you this as a gift. A decoded set of coordinates from the Decepticon database."

Optimus eyed the display with interest if not suspicion, even voice betraying nothing of his thoughts, "How did you acquire this information, Skyfreeze?" His chest plating visibly tightened as he stared at her, trying to decide what to make of her.

Though she was bombarding him with rapid information, he was taking it in stride, like all Primes, "I stole it from Soundwave's data. After the incident with the ship and dark energon, I was able to hack the system from my ship before landing on earth." She took a step forward, extending the device to him, "They have not yet found this code... so if you hurry, you will arrive at it first... potentially even avoiding a battle."

His large blue helm cocked slightly to the side as he took the datapad from her, optics turning down to it even though she knew he was watching her out of his peripheral. "Is joining our ranks the only thing you ask?" He paused, optics flitting between the pad and the femme, "And forgive my bluntness, but I cannot help noticing your lack of a symbol or signature of Autobot or Decepticon. I must ask you to identify yourself."

The lack of real tone change in his voice nearly made her smile considering how alike they were, at least as even tempered, "I expected the question, Sir. My answers are; Yes, it is all I ask in return... and yes, you are correct in that I have no markings." Her words were short, but she kept her tone as even as his, "I have none because I was removed from Cybertron shortly after the war began." She took one small step closer to him, "I did not join either side, in short."

That gained a slight raise of his optic ridges, "You were sideless?" The wheels were almost visibly turning in his mainframe as potential realizations dawned - He very well may have realized who she was with this information, but he revealed nothing, skipping to another point. "If you do not find my question intrusive, might I ask what brought you to earth?"

"After I awoke from induced stasis, my ship traveled for some time without direction... until your message finally found its way to my communications system." Her answer was direct and held enough truth to be passable without straying into information she had no plan to share. "Thus, I traveled here to find you. In doing so, my ship crossed paths with the Nemesis where I tapped into the system after the ship was weakened."

"I see." He nodded, optics casually drifting to the extensions hanging down her back, indicating further that he knew exactly who she was.

Even being sideless, most times, both sides decided she was with the other. Autobots believed she was Decepticon, and the reverse as well. She had yet to decide if his knowing who she was could be for her good or if it was detrimental. While she liked his quiet nature she wished he was slightly more revealing. He was the wisest mech Cybertron had produced in more vorns that anyone cared to think about. The Prime was by far the best hope any bot had ever been given. To a point, she regretted not having had the chance to join him back in that time. Though she was dwarfed by his giant power filled form, she could not help trusting him. Whenever she had been around Megatron back then, all she felt was ill at ease and wary.

Though not her type, Optimus was a handsome mech. The light from the sun hitting his metal caught her eye even though she did not intend to stare at him. There was an odd purity to him even though he had been through more than anyone knew and had battled so long. There was also well earned wisdom that radiated off of him like a calming pulse of a spark. Now that she was seeing him with her own optics she could understand what bots meant when they talked about him being their hope for peace.

"Not to be rude, however, Soundwave is not slow in his work. If you do not act swiftly, he will also have this code." She prompted softly, vocalizer not fully engaging.

He looked up at her again and nodded "You are correct. Time is always of the essence."

He took a few steps toward her causeing something within her to desire to flinch away, but she held firm. His large form stood beside her stoically before calling for a bridge. It almost shocked her that he intended to allow her in so easily. Even though he was logic based she expected to have to work a bit harder to convince him to accept her. Still, he seemed to intend to allow her entry. She guessed it had to do with his age old saying about how every 'bot deserved a chance.

The swirl of green lights appeared before them and the Prime's huge pedes began to move him forward into the bridge. She almost questioned whether or not he wanted her to follow but he did not move to stop her when she began to follow behind him. She felt comfortable around him, even walking through the bridge with him seemed suddenly normal. Perhaps she could hope for the best in this situation. The bridge opened up to the base hidden within the mountain, large Autobot symbol on the floor a little hard to miss.

The all too familiar mechanical shifting hum of a transformation, partial transformation, hit her audio and she instinctively dove and rolled to the side as Arcee's wrist mounted blasters exploded her way. Her body moved on its own in the next second as the black and yellow mech's blasts hit to the side of where she intended to flee, forcing her the other way once again. With the bridge closed already, she had no place to run. The sound of her own transformation hit the air as she brought out her own weapon, not at all interested in being shot. The three bars at both sides of her back now stood erect like a long set of wings, the eyelets coming to life in a glow of blue as she let a white blast from the two top bars erupt - One winglet's shock hit the dark blue femme, and the other hit the yellow mech. Optimus had been shouting out an order, though none of them had been paying attention, at least not until now. The leader's blue optics were now focused on his two frozen warriors, both poised in absolute stillness, a similar stasis as the Nemesis had rendered them a short time ago.

Skyfreeze eyed the new young mech that came dashing into the room, her extension weapons still poised like odd metal wings over her. Again, Optimus moved to interfere since the youth already had his weapons out, aiming for her. Optimus brought out his gun, though she was unsure when he had done it, all she knew was that it was there now. It was not yet pointing at her as he watched Arcee and Bumblebee sag slightly as they came back online. Ratchet was already moving for them like a father rushing to a child after a bike accident. She knew each of these Cybertronians on sight, thanks to the records.

"Stand down!" Came the booming and powerful voice of the Prime, likely having been shouting that all along without avail.

All but Ratchet turned their optics to him, knowing the order was for all of them. While none of them retracted the weapons, the room had taken on a stillness, a stalemate, almost. Arcee and Bumblebee turned to stare at her in a puzzled sort of confusion, not understanding what had even occurred just yet. They allowed Ratchet to scan them both as everyone else stayed in total silence. There was a tension in the room that could have been cut with a servo but Skyfreeze stood utterly still, not seeking to engage them further - Battle was not her goal.

The medic turned on her with all the anger of an irate father, "Just what do you think you were doing?" He roared at her, "And who in Primus are you?"

"You need not worry, they were only stunned. No damage was delivered." With utterly no emotion betrayed in her vocaliser or optics, she replied with simplicity, "My name is Skyfreeze."

Optimus spoke up with a hint of what could have been annoyance or exasperation, "I fear the responsibility for this rests on me. Had I informed you I was bringing a guest there would have been no incident. In my haste, I acted carelessly. " His arm transformed back into his normal servo and he held out the datapad to Ratchet. "Skyfreeze delivered information to me while I was out and I agreed to allow her to come back with me."

The dark blue femme found her voice first, "What information did she deliver?" Her optics narrowed at the other intruder, "And where did they come from?"

Looking over the pad, Ratchet answered before Optimus had the chance, "They are coordinates to the next relic... Decepticon data."

All eyes were drilling into her with radiating suspicion, all but the Prime, "I stole the information when I hacked their system. I brought them as a gift." She said simply, still making no move at all that would alarm them.

"A gift?" Bumblebee whirred in his broken words, his white, derma free faceplate twisted in distrust.

Skyfreeze nodded slowly as her answer.

"Skyfreeze has requested to join our team after her travels in space brought her to earth." Optimus explained swiftly since the femme clearly did not plan to.

Arcee sneered at the other femme, "One new recruit I can believe... mostly... but two in a matter of a days time? That is too coincidental for me to buy... especially from a seeker."

This time, Skyfreeze was swift to answer, emotionless as she sounded, "I am not a seeker, these wings are not functional for flight."

"Right, just to put us in stasis so you can kill us off the cowards way, without risking your tiny helm." Arcee shot back with venom in her voice, "Or maybe we are the ones you planned to gift to Megatron while we were unable to move."

"I only gave you a stun that would last a few seconds..." Her own optics narrowed ever so slightly, "Enough time that you might cool your fans."

Arcee turned to Optimus swiftly, marching up to him, "Please tell me you are not planning to allow her to stay here! She is obviously a spy. No one can hack the Nemesis that easily unless they let her do it." She tossed an accusing servo toward the winged femme, "If we go there, it is bound to be a trap!"

"Perhaps, but we cannot afford not to pursue the lead. We cannot have more relics fall into their hands. Skyfreeze has brought us information that we must persue before Megatron does."

Bumblebee finally spoke again, "What if it is a trap? What if she is a spy?" His optic ridges turned down, "Should we take her with us on the mission?"

Starscream had no idea what was causing the obvious disruption in the Autobot group, but he had never been one to pass up a chance when handed it. He was even more pleased that it had been a rookie assigned to watch him. Before, he hated it, but with the slip up, he enjoyed it. Only a rookie would have rushed away to leave a prisoner unattended at the simple sound of cannon blasts. Granted, the shouting Prime did indicate something was happening, but any soldier with time under his circuitry would have known better than to leave the enemy alone in the base. Locking the door was really not good enough, especially for a prisoner such as an ex-commander. Did that sparkling really think he could not escape a poorly, hastily locked door?

One would think after all his bragging about escaping a Decepticon ship, he would think a little more about how to prevent it happening here. Smokescreen was far more interested in bragging than his real work. Gloating seemed to be his one and only skill. It clearly was not ensuring the door was tightly locked. What a fool!

As it was, the cuffs had been easy enough to break open. The lock on the door took a few human seconds to best. The streamline seeker made his way silently from the room and hurried toward where he knew the ground bridge was. It was the only exit he actually knew, so he would have to use it. Before the shouting and charging blasters, he had taken note that the ground bridge opened. While the group was still in that room, from the sound of it, he could still make his way out after they moved. Even if they did not, whatever caused the stir should be enough to hold their attention off him while he made his move. Better still would be if the potential invader was Decepticon.

As he moved carefully closer, he began to make out some of the words being spoken.

The first voice he knew was the one called Arcee, "Right, just ... you can kill us... without risking your tiny..." She sounded angry but he edged closer anyway, "Or maybe we are the ones you planned to gift to Megatron while we were unable to move."

He frowned at the mention of Megatron - So it was an invasion?

"I only gave you a stun that would last a few seconds... Enough time that you might cool your fans." A new femme's voice.

The seeker's body went ridged at the sound of that voice, but he knew it was impossible. There was no way it could have been that femme's voice. She was dead, everyone knew it. The Autobots had killed her many centuriess ago, even before the war had been too harsh. He found that his servos were suddenly shaking uncontrollably, his wings quivering with anxiousness. Could it be her? His system was set on edge in totality. Was it possible that she had been alive all this time?

His spark pulsed hard in his chassis at the thought. Some piece of hope filled him, one he was afraid to let bloom in fear it was a lie. It was true that he had never seen the body. Megatron said she was utterly destroyed and even taken away for parts. All they had left from her body was a single bar extension from her left wing. His fans nearly kicked on without permission, wanting to cycle to cool him as he considered the potential. He could not count the times he dreamed about her being alive but he never dared think of it in his waking moments. His mind shot back to the last time he saw her in the labritory, not long before she was killed in a raid. Every curve of her face, all those sharp but delicate edges of hers, he remembered them even now. Carefully, his slim pedes edged him closer to the hall opening. It was dangerous if they saw him, but he simply had to know if it could really have been true or if his audio was glitching.

Bumblebee was now speaking but Starscream hardly noticed, it was something about a mission.

Slowly, his helm peeked around the corner, optics sweeping the room.

Before she could even think to answer the accusations being tossed her way, a voice broke in past all the rest, making her stop cold. It was a voice she knew all too well, low, with a slight edge, but always delivered like high grade energon. Her fans hitched as her processor allowed it to draw her attention to the figure now in the doorway, the figure that called her name, or her pet name.

"Angel!" The low breathy voice nearly shouted.

Her optics went wide as she saw the unforgetable form of the seeker slide into full view, "Starscream?" Her voice held all the shock she was feeling, a smile playing at her derma, the first sign of emotion she had shown since arriving on earths soil.

He took a few timid steps forward, seeming to have forgotten, as she had, all about the Autobots, "Impossible..." He mused, though he sounded more pleased by it than anything, red optics light with what could only be called joy.

Like a set of magnets being placed in range of each other, the two swiftly found themselves together, neither aware which one moved first. The femme hardly noticed her pedes leave the ground as her old friend's arms pulled her up into the hug. Her shoulders relaxed, system instantly feeling tension relief when she felt his arms circling her waist. Their helms rested together a moment before he shifted to nestle his faceplate into her neck cables. Until this moment she was not even aware of her own tensed cables, shoulder and back struts stretching with the release. She reveled in the feeling of his familiar chassis against her own. Even after so much time had passed, these arms were still more welcoming and calming that any recharge could be, the simple feeling enough to make her melt the way human's chocolate did on heat filled days.

"Angel..." He mused again, "I can't believe it!" The words were only slightly muffled by the way his derma were pressed lightly against her neck.

"I had no idea you were here." Though she would have if she had taken the time to look, but she felt too happy to dwell on that.

"I-I thought you were dead." His voice was softer, almost forced with that admission.

"Just a rumor." A quiet laugh buzzed in her vents.

Angel knew she should pull away, but he held her tight, faceplate buried into her neck cables. He seemed desperate, as if she might vanish once he let her go. Slowly, she gave a firm press to his chassis with both servos, indicating gently, but firmly, that he needed to let her go. While she honestly had the desire to remain in his hold forever, she could not allow it. Nothing could have hurt more than to pull away from the arms she had longed for so long, but she had to pull away all the same. To feel him, touch him, and hear his voice again brought her more happiness than she had felt in all this time since Cybertron. Pulling back nearly made her weak. This development was unexpected.

Reluctantly, he allowed her to pull away from him, her pedes instantly moving her back a few steps though she did not turn away, optics still locked onto his even though her smile was gone. Her own protective walls could not allow others to watch her show affection out of simple fear of showing weakness. Weaknesses were what brought trouble to everyone. Already, she had shown far too much of her emotion. The shock of seeing him was too much, but her processor had already begun to run horribly through the potential negative outcomes from the display, which were slightly brought to life a second later as Arcee spoke up.

"Now I know we can't trust her!" Arcee's optic ridge turned down in a glare as Skyfreeze turned to look at her. "Anyone close to the slagging seeker has to be as bad as he is." The blue femme turned what was as close to an accusing gaze to Optimus as it could get.

Guns were now pointed in the Seeker's direction as well as hers but she took no notice, simply crossing her servos over her chassis. Unconsciously, she took a step to position herself, hip joints shifting defiantly, in front of her old friend. Her optics drilled them all as she stood, unmoving. Keeping calm was really the only option in these cases, though inwardly, she was anything but. Seeing the seeker, that was so unexpected, welcome, yet horrible all at once. Things had just become far more complicated, though she could not quite bring herself to be angered over it with him so near. Optimus waved his giant servo in an indication for the others to stand down again, which they did, mostly.

Starscream visibly bristled, mouth opening with what she knew could only be a string of insults, so, she cut him off, "Please..." She shot a harsh look at the mech behind her before turning back to the others, "You have a right to distrust me, but you will have to go soon to the coordinates if you hope to recover the item. In just this time, Soundwave might already have decoded it."

Optimus took a heavy step toward the bridge, "That is correct. We must investigate without delay... further delay." He amended his last words as if thinking over the past few moments.

"But Optimus, we cannot leave two Decepticons unattended in our base!" Arcee protested, "Even with Ratchet here, we have to think of Bulkhead. Ratchet cannot guard both of them and take care of Bulkhead." Her burning optics shot to Smokescreen in accusation, "And the first guard we put on duty could not even keep one in check."

Optics narrowing, the white, blue, and red mech seemed ready to defend himself, but was instantly headed off by the leader.

"Smokescreen will guard Starscream while we are gone." Prime's clear voice was strong, making it clear that this was the final word, "Skyfreeze will come with us as our guide, as Bumblebee suggested."

"What?" Starscream bellowed, optics blazing, "You mentioned Megatron earlier, but you intend to bring her with you anyway?" His words turned to a snarl, dipping low and threatening, "Do you plan to use her as a shield or cannon fodder?"

Keeping her helm so she could see both sides, she spoke calmly, "I will be fine. I have no objections to accompanying you on the mission, but we still need to hurry."

"Angel!" Starscream reached for her, catching her shoulder to turn her his way, "You cannot be serious! Do you really think they will protect you after they tried to kill you before I came in?" He said that as if he was the one that stopped it all, "You cannot go with them!"

Her optics betrayed a slight amount of annoyance, but only slight, "Do not presume you can instruct me, Starscream. I no more will follow your commands now than I did then." Her helm cocked to the side with a slight bit of playfulness, one servo coming to rest on her hip joint, "If you remember me at all, you should remember that I am not as delicate as my appearance indicates... nor am I as docile as I seem."

"Fine! But do not come running to me when they let you get hurt." His voice sounded harsh, but the worry was hidden deep within it, "But I swear, you better come back because I have a lot of questions to ask you... if, you are not too suborn to answer. Hard headed femme, you never listen to me." He muttered the last part more to himself than anything.

"Understood." She stated simply, the betrayal of play gone from her face as she marched to stand near the Prime.

The bridge swirled to life instantly and she stepped into it even before the Prime could, eager, if not angered to the point of intent to prove herself. Her wings were still out, so she was ready if anything came at her. She would not be caught off guard by either side. There had been just about enough stress for one day. If the bots would stop fighting with her, they just might beat the Decepticons. She had every reason to want to Autobots to get this relic first, even if they did not know it yet. A slight bit of heat was radiating off her from anger. Her anger was not so much directed at anyone, but just general irritation. It was strange to feel it this much.

Seeing her old friend hit a few nerves she had not been expecting to be hit. He had her feeling emotional where calm had been. It was silly how the short time with him stirred so much in her that she was not used to feeling anymore. She had seen him in the records but it was different, he was different. The records held a mech she almost did not know anymore. War had changed him. Still, just now, he seemed so like himself, the way she knew him. He had always been moody, prone to vanity, quick to speak when he should be silent, headstrong, and even foolish, but he had never been cruel when she knew him. Seeing him in the records forced her to separate herself from him, sticking to a strictly observatory view. It let her cut off her emotions and simply watch. She had not expected seeing him to draw back her emotions so instantly.

He had always been one of the only she knew that could draw her out of her logic based shell. She was happy being apart from others, never letting them get close. It was easier not to feel or become attached to anyone, most of all after the war started. Starscream had been different though. Once they began working together, her emotionless exterior had been something of a challenge to the mech, and he refused to relent until he finally got to her. He got to her anger first, which had earned him a reward - Getting locked in the supply closet all night until she returned to following morning to let him out. Needless to say, he learned a lesson about her anger in that first emotional show. After that though... they somehow became friends. He was the only one that could bring out her emotions even now, though she did show more personality than she used to. There was a time she was more like Soundwave, utterly emotion free, but not now.

Skyfreeze stepped out, pedes hitting the dirt. Optimus moved in beside her, which was a comfort. Being near him meant safety as well as assisting in calming her with his aura of utter unshakable steadiness. Even when Arcee and Bumblebee moved in closer she still felt at ease being beside the giant. He likely had no idea how much help he was to her currently. Thus far, he was the only one she trusted not to shoot her. She wanted to stay close to him for multiple reasons, most of all in case Megatron appeared.

The thought of that hulking mass of metal nearly made her shiver. That was the other thing Starscream had been so helpful with, reminding her about that monster back at the Autobot base. Little did he know how true it was, what he said about her death. She would not tell them, any of them, but she had indeed died. It was not something she cared to think back on. Different places on her body twinged with the memory of being torn to pieces by those enormous clawed fingers. A sharp ghost pain in her leg made her stumble slightly.

To her surprise, a servo reached out to steady her, his broken vocalizer beeping, "Don't worry, you will get used to the terrain." He had interpreted the stumble as a lack of balance.

"Ah..." She nodded to him as he withdrew his servos, "Thank you."

Perhaps they were not so terrible, not really. Some part of her regretted a few of the unkind thoughts she had held in her processor toward him for the base incident. They were just protective of their leader and team, which she could understand. The first impression had been a rather poor one, but she could get past that. She had seen enough in the records to know they were not as horrible as she felt them to be while being fired at. The scout was even kind, to her, a suspected spy. She had to wonder if the Prime believed her to be a spy still, and was simply listening to her because he had no choice. That was likely, but she would earn their trust as soon as possible. The datapad in Optimus' servos beeped to indicate the location as he focused on it.

Finally, they had it! Had she been a more vocal bot, she would have cheered. So far, no 'Cons, which was more than a little encouraging. The rest of the day just might turn out to be a good one. Her optics made a quick scan of the area and took a chance to glance at the detector in the leader's hand. The relic had already been nearly uncovered, though not by bots. It seemed this one was easy to get to thanks to the humans that had already been digging in this area. Humans called it excavation, likely in search of historic relics of their own.

Bumblebee stepped up first, driving his servos into the ground at the indicated spot. His blunt servos sifted into the dirt with more ease than she expected, the dirt rippled and shattered as he pulled up, servo coming up suddenly with the small round pod. He held it out for them to see, but did not open it yet. Optimus nodded, seeming as pleased as he ever let on. The yellow and black mech handed the pod to his leader carefully, all of them tensed, unsure what it contained. One pod had nearly been Bulkhead's undoing, though they did not know she knew. They had no way to know that she had been monitoring them, and she was not about to tell them.

The sound of a bridge opening sets them all ridged, each knowing it did not belong to them. Optimus had yet to call for Ratchet to open it again. So much for an uneventful mission, she mused grudgingly.

AN: Takes place after TFP "New Recruit" with the alteration of Starscream actually escaping. I do not normally bring OC's into fanfics but I could not help it this one time. The idea just hit me and I had to do it. I hope you like her and the story!