Civilians
The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand. --Frank Herbert
Chapter Two: Something we do not understand.
Ironically, the disappearance of the Ark, along with the Autobot and Decepticon commanders, had been a boon to Cybertron. The subsequent Autobot diaspora and Shockwave's stewardship of the war-shattered planet had brought about a stasis, similar in its way to the stasis lock that preserves the systems of its inhabitants in cases of massive damage. The remaining Decepticons and planetary maintenance drones worked to repair the surface structures, and the hundred or so scattered Autobot holdouts repaired the vast sub-surface areas that had sheltered them for so many millennia. The two groups were tacitly aware of one another, but energy supplies were so low that logical Shockwave determined that it would be an inefficient waste of resources to hunt down and completely eliminate his entrenched foes. He would wait for his fiery commander, Megatron, to return, or some other significant advantage to come his way. The universe was vast and he had time to wait.-- The Prime Interregnum: Cybertron in Stasis, Cybertronia Datafile 137-2663
The metal worktable gleamed under the lab's bright work lights. Freshly repaired devices were lined up neatly on the front edge, ready for use. Tools and components had been returned to their places in drawers and bins. The data station idled quietly, conducting an end-of-use file cleanup protocol. Perceptor examined his workspace one last time. Everything was in order. He nodded to himself, pleased with the precision arrayed before his optics.
His recharge berth was conveniently located on the opposite wall of the lab. He found it inefficient to maintain separate quarters for rest. He went to his berth and sat down, idly debating a quick trip to the leisure area for some energon before logging off, and decided against it. He would rest first. He extinguished the lights and lay in the quiet darkness.
Suddenly, his internal radio crackled into life. +Perceptor? This is Arcdriver in Security. I'm receiving a transmission from one of the field teams. They need to talk to you.+
+I am receiving you, Arcdriver. Patch them through,+ he replied.
+No can do, Perceptor. They've got visual feed. Come to the comm. You have got to see this.+
+I'll be right there.+ His feet hit the floor with a clang and he hurried out of the lab and down the darkened hall to the base's anterior security station. He stepped into the security suite and gazed up at the wall sized viewscreen in fascination. It showed a slow sweeping pan of a room filled from floor to ceiling with hand sized cubes softly glowing with a pinkish-purplish light. The image jumped, flickered and started again. The camera's eye focused on a dark rectangular hole in a corridor wall. The hole had been opened by removing a panel from the wall. A figure, metallic red and lithe, weapon extended in a high ready position, stepped briskly through the hole. A moment later, a hand re-emerged and beckoned in a "come here" motion. The camera advanced on the hole. There was a momentary flare of light as the camera compensated for the change in illumination and then it replayed the pan across the cubes.
"Is that energon?" He asked in awe.
"We're pretty sure it is," said a disembodied female voice from a speaker near the viewscreen. "Judging by the size of the room, there's enough here to power a starship."
"Or an attack on all of our hidden bases," said a second voice, somewhat deeper and more apprehensive.
"I've never seen that cube configuration before. Have you Perceptor?" asked Arcdriver. She was sitting in the chair in front of the viewscreen.
"I know I've seen it somewhere before." He replied softly. "Let me think. I don't believe it's new. We and Shockwave have been using direct conduit to ensure maximum efficiency in energon use. Maybe it's an old stockpile." He raised his voice. "It may be very old indeed. I suggest proceeding with extreme caution. Can you get me an image of one of the cubes, close up.?"
"Sure." The lighter voice replied. "But I'll have to wipe the first image. Do you have it saved?"
Arcdriver pressed a button on the viewscreen workstation. The repeating image was replaced with a blank blue screen. "I saved the image. Go ahead with the next transmission, Moonracer."
The screen brightened again showing one of the pink cubes in close-up. Moonracer was obviously standing quite close to the stack to get the image. The cube was crisply formed with sharp edges and sides and it glowed brightly. Not an old cube, then.
"Where did you find these?" Perceptor asked.
"We're in the section of Iacon closest to Polyhex. The remote sensors picked up on some unexpected movement down here, so we came to investigate. As we walked down the corridor, we found the opening you saw and this room." The other disembodied voice explained. Judging by the soft slurring accent and the red figure he had seen, Perceptor deduced that it was Firestar. "When we came across these, we called it in right away. Elita-One said we should consult with you."
"I'm glad you did." Perceptor replied. "But I am puzzled. If Shockwave has a supply of new energon, why is he storing it instead of using it?"
"It could be a trap." Firestar warned. "We haven't touched the cubes in case they were booby trapped. It's something Shockwave would do."
"Perhaps, although this seems like too a substantial cache to serve merely as bait for us." He knew the Decepticon would not be so wasteful of his limited resources. "Can you determine if there is a trap or not? I would like to examine a sample personally."
"Let me check," Firestar appeared in the image again, moving a hand-held sensor slowly up and down the stack of glowing cubes. "There's nothing on the readout. They seem fine." She picked up a cube from the stack.
"Stop right there, Autobot thief!" a harsh voice cried.
Perceptor and Arcdriver jumped, startled as the image swung around to reveal two bulky, broad shouldered figures blocking the exit to the corridor. Their faces were thrown into shadow by the light coming from behind, but their crimson optics blazed their identities readily enough.
"Decepticons!" Perceptor and Moonracer's distant voice echoed one another.
"Very good, little Autobots, Shockwave will be pleased to get such intelligent prisoners to interrogate," one Decepticon said, stepping forward slightly.
"What makes you think we're going to go with you?" asked Firestar. "From where I see it we've got a standoff. You can't fire in here without blowing us all up."
"Oh, we weren't planning on firing," the Decepticon replied. "We're going to take you down by hand, much more fun." He pounded one fist into the opposite hand to illustrate his point. His partner spread his arms wide, prepared to tackle the first moving target that came his way.
+Firestar, we'll raise the alarm. See if you can stall them.+ Arcdriver sent on the Autobots' radio frequency.
+No time. We've got this, but we're going to have to drop the image.+ Firestar was calm and final. The screen blanked to blue again. Perceptor and Arcdriver stared absently at it as they listened to Moonracer's next words.
"Ooh, sorry guys, that's not our type of fun."
"Too bad," the Decepticon said flatly.
There was a scrape of metal. Firestar shouted "'racer, NOW!" and the speakers squealed with the noise and feedback of a massive explosion. Arcdriver dove for the controls to turn down the volume. There was a "clang", the sound of transformation, engines and skirling tires. Then the speakers rang with Moonracer's merry laughter.
"Moonracer? Firestar? Are you all right? What happened?" Arcdriver called into the console's microphone.
"That's some good energon," drawled Firestar. "I flipped a cube up over the 'cons' heads and Moonracer pegged it from her hip. It blew them clear across the corridor."
"You destroyed the energon sample?" asked Perceptor, dismayed.
"No, I saved your precious sample, Percy. And we're fine, too. In case you were wondering," Firestar sounded exasperated.
Perceptor felt too contrite to object to the hated nickname. "I am pleased that you escaped unharmed. I would have hated to see your bravery and clever planning come to naught."
Arcdriver turned in her chair and gave the scientist a sly smile. "Nice save," she mouthed silently.
He ignored her. "Are you returning to the Iacon base now?"
"Yes," said Moonracer, "but we're going around the long way in case someone is following us."
"I wish to examine the energon right away. Can I meet you at Iacon in three cycles?"
"Make it four," replied Firestar. "I think those guys might have had backup." There was a roar as the two warriors sped up and a faint sound of other engines far away. "We'll be there, don't worry. Firestar, out." The transmission was cut off.
Arcdriver turned her chair to face Perceptor as he slumped down, palms flat on the console desk, head drooping. "She's right, don't worry. They'll be fine. They live for this kind of thing."
"I sincerely hope that they do not die for it as well," he said grimly. "That was a lot of energon. Where could Shockwave be getting it from?"
"Well, brilliant scientist, I guess you'll just have to figure that out," she said, smiling. "In the meantime, go get some time offline. You'll be sharper if you do."
"You are correct, Arcdriver. I will go now," he said, turning on his heel and abruptly walking out.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out, Perceptor, you always do," she said softly to his retreating back as she turned to her security terminals.
+-+-+-+-+-+
The access tunnel sloped gently upwards in a gradual spiral to accommodate wheeled or foot traffic. The grimy walls of the tunnel were dimly visible, lighted by intermittently operating panels in the ceiling. The surface access tunnels were the no-mech's land on Cybertron. Both factions avoided them as they were unstable and also ideal sites for sniping or ambush. So Blaster and Codex were unsurprised when they encountered the first section of collapsed ceiling blocking their forward progress.
"Aw, rust and slag," Blaster muttered as he looked up at the cascade of debris and wires filling the curved tunnel. "I wonder how thick this is."
"It looks like there might be a way through, for me. If you transform, I can carry you past." Codex replied.
Blaster nodded and leaped up, folding and shrinking to take on his alternate form, a compact sensor and transmission array about the width of Codex's chest. She hefted him up and secured him to her back with a magnetic clasp.
Then she gingerly picked her way through a curtain of dead hanging wires to the sloped debris pile. Grit sifted down as she pushed the wires aside, coating her gray glossy frame and Blaster's red and yellow one with black particles.
"Hey, careful of the paintjob," he groused in her ear.
"You're too pretty, anyway. If you stuck with a sensible color, you'd hardly notice it," she retorted.
"I like standing out. You can be too practical, you know," he teased.
"Hasn't hurt me yet. Now, shut it, and let me concentrate," she said.
Behind the obscuring wires was a slope of fallen, broken panels and filler from above the tunnel ceiling. It was uneven, but provided lots of hand and foot holds for a careful climber. Codex reached up, grasping and testing each hold before she trusted their weight to it. Blaster's transmitter form was bulky, but thankfully light enough not to throw her off balance.
She pulled herself up, looking for an opening that she could slide or crawl through. She found one opening, but it quickly narrowed to a little hole only a glitch-mouse could have gotten through. She pulled herself higher. There! A metal panel had wedged itself against the wall, forming a slender tunnel. She shifted her weight to climb up and was forced to jump back quickly as she knocked loose a noisy slide of debris that nearly buried her.
"Slag!" she cried in alarm as she regained her foot and handholds. She clung to the pile, listening intently to the echoing noise. "If there's anyone here. They definitely heard that."
"Let's not give them time to find us," Blaster urged.
Codex agreed. Thankfully the bracing panel had been unaffected by the shifting junk. More carefully, she made her way to the side. She unclipped Blaster from her back and slid him ahead of her through the little tunnel. She crawled in behind and alternately pushing and crawling, negotiated the cramped space.
On the other side of the obstruction, the corridor opened up again. She lowered Blaster to the ground and jumped from the pile into the clear tunnel, landing softly. Blaster transformed back into his tall mech form.
"I hope we don't encounter many more of those," he said. "They'll slow us down, too much."
"The tunnel ahead looks clear. We'll just deal with whatever comes up."
"Right," he said, striding ahead again.
There was no sound, other than their own footsteps, as they walked. It looked as if their luck was holding.
They negotiated one more partially blocked corridor in similar fashion before encountering a third fall that was heat fused together. It formed a solid, knobby wall across the entire passageway. So much for luck.
"Great!" Blaster turned to her, exasperated. "What are we going to do now?"
"We could go back," she replied softly. We could try another passage."
"Oh no. We've gotten this far. If we go back, we're going to lose more time. And who knows, maybe all of the exits are like this." He looked back down the corridor again, fists jammed on his hips, elbows akimbo. "This is probably someone's idea of good security."
"It does make sense. If we don't encounter the Decepticons, we don't have to worry about fighting them."
"You know, Codex. I'd prefer fighting to this." He gestured to the corridor behind. "I'm so slagging tired of hiding. I hate being stuck down here in the dark."
"It's hardly dark." She retorted, but she knew what he meant. Their life was quiet, almost peaceful, but wrong. They were so concerned about safety, about preserving Cybertron and holding on until…what? Until the Ark returned from the far reaches of space filled with a billion vorns worth of energy? The Ark was long gone, the poor Autobots who committed themselves to Optimus Prime's desperate gamble for energy were dead. The only aid they provided was to draw off Megatron and his strongest warriors. A reprieve, true, but one that became less and less meaningful as Cybertron's resources dwindled beneath their feet. Eventually their homeworld would be a perfectly repaired tomb circling a dead star.
Such gloomy thoughts, while appropriate for a dim dead end, would not get them to the surface. She couldn't afford the time to brood. She had promised to help Blaster. If he was out of ideas, fine. She wasn't done yet. They couldn't force their way through, but perhaps they could go around.
"Blaster, do you remember the ceiling vent we passed a while back?" she asked.
"Um, nope." He replied, shaking his head.
"Trust me, there was one. Why do you big guys never look up?" She scolded. "Sorry, bad joke. Anyway, we'll go back to the vent and if you boost me up, I can climb up and carry you."
"Sounds like a plan." He replied cheerfully and turned to go back down the corridor. "You know, Codex, our alt. forms are practically the same size, I wonder why my maker didn't give me a small primary mode like yours, too. Being small is pretty useful."
"Being small is all right, especially for getting into tight spaces, but your maker wanted you to be able to fight." Codex replied as they walked down the corridor together. "I'm not much good in a fight, except as a distraction."
"Hmm, hadn't thought of that. Did you do a lot of fighting in the war?" he asked.
"I did some. Especially in the beginning when the Decepticons overran the Archives and we had to escape and meet up with the Autobots at Iacon After that I stayed back at Headquarters and analyzed signals and data. Later, I'd go out with the infiltration teams sometimes and I was usually paired up with someone who was a better shot than me. If we were discovered they'd hold the position while I extracted the data. Then we'd both fight our way out together," she said.
"That infiltration stuff sounds more exciting than staying at headquarters."
"It could be, but it was dangerous. The Decepticon communications officer was ruthless when it came to guarding their data. And he had his own little army to send after anyone he detected. That's why we had to go to direct infiltration. He targeted any Autobot with radio abilities like his own. He'd dispatch Ravage or Laserbeak and they'd tail the 'bot back from the field and catch him alone somewhere. When we'd find them," she frowned, "it was awful. If there's one Decepticon that I'm truly glad is gone, it's Soundwave."
"More than Megatron?" he asked, surprised.
"Definitely. Megatron was powerful, and dangerous, but he reserved his killing grudge for Optimus Prime. Megatron was looking to conquer us. Soundwave wanted to blind and deafen us, and then kill us. Especially 'bots like me, and you."
"Me? What, because I'm able to pick up on and jam radio, like him?" he asked.
"Exactly," she said looking up at him. "Looks like we're here."
Blaster lifted Codex up to the vent in the ceiling. After a moment of work the vent cover swung down and she hoisted herself up into the dark square opening to grasp the bottom rungs of the ladder. He jumped up and transformed and she caught him neatly, securing him against her back. She looked up to see the faint glimmer of stars high above.
+Radio receptors open?+ She asked Blaster over their private link.
+I'm listening. All quiet so far.+ He replied.
She started to climb.
+-+-+-+-+
Codex crouched just below the grating of the access vent. Blaster opened his radio receptor, extended a thin antenna, and listened for activity in the area. There was the usual background static produced by Cybertron's magnetic field. He tuned down through the drone frequencies, noting the strength of the signals and plotting them on his mental area grid. He caught a brief crackle of traffic from a trio of Decepticon Seekers flying high and fast, but they were soon out of sight. After about ten kliks, he was satisfied that there were no enemy units close by and signaled to Codex to open the hatchway.
She cautiously lifted the grate and peered out. They were in the center of a large open space. In former times, this plaza had been busy with travelers entering and leaving the transit system from the domed buildings to the left. Abandoned now, it felt larger than it truly was. Blaster did not feel comfortable in the open like this. He transformed from his alt. mode and trotted quickly towards the rows of squat, square buildings opposite the transit system entrance. Codex followed him, looking around. When they gained the shelter of the buildings, they both stopped to listen again.
Faintly, Blaster could hear something moving in the next street. Codex must have heard it too, as she stiffened against his leg, tensely listening. His radio confirmed that it was a Sentinel drone on routine patrol. The mindless sentry was following its pre-set search pattern, watching and listening for anything.
+Will it come this way?+ Codex asked over their radio link. +Or do you think we can avoid it?+
+It will probably come this way. We have to go past it to get to the comm. tower, anyway. I don't think we'll be able to fool its sensors. It's linked in to the Decepticon mainframe. It'll report anything it hears or sees right away,+ he replied.
+We can't avoid it, but maybe we can take it out.+ She narrowed her optics. +They're strong, but not very fast. The two of us should be able to deactivate it.+
+It'll call for reinforcements as soon as we attack it. We'll have every drone in the sector on us within two kliks, and Seekers on the way for backup.+ He shook his head.
+What if we prevent it from calling in while we're taking it down?+ She smiled up at him sardonically. +I know you HATE having to broadcast a jamming field…+
He smiled wickedly back. +Now, that might just work. We'll have a problem when the mainframe looks for it and it's offline, though.+
+I have a solution for that, too. Just don't crack its head, all right?+ She flexed her fingers and shuffled her feet. +Ready?+
+Ready!+ He cut the radio link and activated his powerful jammer as they ran together towards the sounds on the other side of the building.
Blaster pulled up abruptly as he confronted the drone. It was a bulky purple thing standing in an empty street between two empty buildings. It gripped a laser pistol in one hand. Its head, merely suggested by a clear dome between its shoulders, turned to face him and it raised the weapon.
"HALT!" It cried harshly. "Identification and clearance passcode required."
Blaster spread his hands and took a step forward. "Well, that's going to be a problem," he said evenly. "I'm afraid I don't have anything like that, but maybe we can work something out."
The Sentinel paused, looking for a response from its command center to this anomalous input. During the astrosecond it idled the gun drifted off target. As soon as Blaster saw the gun barrel move, he darted forward and pulled it from the drone's slack grip. The drone responded by lashing out with its other fist, landing a ferocious uppercut to his chest that knocked Blaster off of his feet.
As he fell, he dropped the weapon. The drone bent down to recover the gun and Blaster launched himself from the ground, tackling the big machine. They landed together with a crash of sparks and scraping of metal against the ground. Now Blaster was struggling to pin the drone to the ground while the larger robot pummeled him with both fists.
They grappled together on the ground as Codex darted up. She slipped around the tangle of flailing limbs and leaped up to cling to the drone's chest. The machine swiped at her with one arm, but she ducked neatly and undid a catch at the side of the domed head. The clear dome swung wide, revealing the drone's control center. Codex jammed a hand in and the drone abruptly went slack.
Blaster leaned back, examining his arms and chest where several large dents marked the glossy red surface. They were painful, but a quick check showed that the damage was superficial. Codex was busy in the drone's head again. She had plugged into it with a data cable from her helm and she was intently switching wires and pulling diodes. It was a disturbing sight, watching his friend intently rewiring another machine's central processor with such detached concentration.
"Remind me not to get you mad at me," he said shakily.
"I'm putting in an offline delay and pulling some data, not destroying it," she said. "I wouldn't do this to your processor, anyway. You're way too complex."
"That's good to know," he said faintly.
"I know what this looks like, but these drones aren't alive. We can't leave it offline permanently, but we can arrange some time for ourselves," she said, unplugging the cable and latching the head dome back down. "Help me drag this one off of the street."
They moved the drone into one of the nearby buildings and closed the door. "Ok, here's my plan," she said. "I have its radio frequency and identity codes. I'll upload them to you once you drop the jammer. When the mainframe searches for it, you call in with its ident. and report an all clear. You're going to have to keep checking in according to the protocol data, so don't forget. The real drone will come back online in half a cycle and I've advanced its chronometer and wiped its recent memory, so it won't miss the time. It should just report in as normal when it goes online. Once you hear it call in, you can stop."
"Works for me. Give me the codes." He dropped his jamming signal and she sent him the information over their radio link. It was pretty simple. The mainframe sent out an ident. pulse every fifty kliks. As long as he replied with the correct code, the computer would log the drone's active status automatically. If a drone didn't respond, the computer would alert Shockwave and the steward would have to personally confirm the drone's status and cancel the alert. Blaster intended to avoid that.
They headed off again, spotting the climbing spire of the Decepticon comm. tower on the horizon. Its slender form pierced the sky, glowing lights mingling with the stars of the eternal Cybertronian night. Obviously, Shockwave was at home.
Blaster's radio receptor buzzed with an incoming signal. The Decepticon mainframe was searching for the drone. He sent back the ident. code, anxious despite Codex's reassurances. +Identity code acknowledged. Continue routine patrol.+ Thank Primus, this was going to work.
They did not encounter any other drones as they made their way under the very shadow of the tower. In addition to answering the regular queries from the mainframe, Blaster was also able to track the other units moving in the area and they carefully avoided any contact. The area immediately around the tower was very quiet. Codex silently directed Blaster to an access panel on the curved outer surface of the tower. As he played lookout, she unscrewed the panel and swung it open. A thick bundle of cables flanked by two glowing energon lines climbed up the interior wall of the tower in the space behind the panel.
"Here's our listening post," she said excitedly. "We can both fit in here in our alt. forms. I'll plug in directly and see what I can pull from the datastore. You tap into the radio frequency and listen in on Shockwave. He's hard at work right now."
She pulled a cable from her helm and fitted it into a port next to the bundle. Then she gestured for him to transform. He did so and she picked him up and nestled him against the outer wall. He would be unable to transform back in this space without tearing himself up and probably getting a good shock in the process. Then she swung the panel almost shut and transformed herself. The two mechanisms; one gray, one red, sat innocently hidden while the cybernetic minds hidden within opened their unique senses to their enemies' secrets.
The time had almost come for the offline drone to start reporting in for itself again when there was the sudden noise of a massive explosion and the tower shook. More gritty dirt showered them and the panel above swung open. The explosion was quickly followed by a burst of laser fire and amazingly, the sound of revving engines. The radio channels hummed and sang as Shockwave sent out the alert +Autobots! All units: track and apprehend.+
+What did you do?+ he radioed Codex.
+Huh? Me?+ she answered muzzily, pulling her focus back from exploring the mainframe. +I didn't do anything. Don't transform in here!+ she reminded him sternly just as he was about to trigger his transformation actuators. +What did you blow up?+
+I didn't do that. I thought you had triggered something while you were fooling around in the system. No, wait…+ alerted now, they both heard the voice booming over the communications system. Its deadly rasp echoed through the tower.
"Wait, Shockwave. I want you to destroy the Autobots with rain, acid rain!"
"As you command, Mighty Megatron," intoned Shockwave from somewhere on the other side of the wall. +All drone units, cancel last order. Return to Decepticon comm. for repairs. Seeker patrol two, track Autobot infiltrators and destroy with acid rain.+
"Megatron is alive?" Codex whispered. She transformed and scooped Blaster up with one hand while she pulled her dataline with the other. "Oh, Primus, what have I done? You don't have much time. Those Seekers will be on us in a few kliks." She dropped Blaster gently outside and scrambled out. "C'mon, transform. You can run faster than me. You have to get out of here."
"Wait," said Blaster as he transformed. He knelt down and put a calming hand on Codex's head. "Don't you mean WE have to get out of here?"
"Yes," she said impatiently. "We have to get out of here, so let's get moving."
"I don't think they're after us," despite her agitation, he didn't think they were the focus of Shockwave's search.
"If Megatron is alive, then they ARE after us," she replied, looking frantically up at the sky and tugging on his arm. "If Megatron is alive, then Soundwave will be, too. You're not ready." Her face was drawn with fear. She looked wildly up at the tower, hunching down as if the looming building had lifted a fist to strike them down.
"Ready for what? Codex, are you even sure that WAS Megatron?" he asked, trying to engage her logic circuits to fight her rising panic.
"Oh, yes," she moaned and glared up at him with blazing blue optics. "It's not a voice you forget. Megatron is alive. Soundwave is alive. Optimus Prime is dead and we will be, too."
"Codex, stop!" Blaster grabbed the femme's shoulders and shook her. "You're scared. I think I understand why. But we have to think. We heard engines driving away. Megatron told Shockwave to track the Autobots. I don't think he's actually here. And I don't think they're looking for us. If we run out into the open right now, they will find us, so we have to stop and think."
"Stop," she said softly. "Think." Her optics dimmed and she seemed to collect herself. "Sorry. I shouldn't have panicked."
"Hey, don't fuss about it. I'm probably just too dumb to realize how much danger we're in," he chuckled and lifted her up to his shoulder as he stood.
"You've got that right," she said, looking at him levelly. "We have got to get back and warn the others, though."
"Shouldn't we go after the Autobots we heard?" he asked.
"We'll never be able to keep up. They have vehicle forms. See if you can pick up on their signal, though. We can listen in and see if we can find out where they are going," she replied.
"We can send them a warning, too," he said, "about the acid rain."
"No!" she cried, stiffening again. "We can't risk any transmissions until we get underground. They'll know enough to get under cover if it rains. We'll contact them once we get back to headquarters."
"Why not now?" he asked petulantly.
"Soundwave. Megatron might not be here, but we don't know for sure if he is or not. If you transmit, he'll track you down. The two of us can't handle him. We have to report in and get some back up."
"Fine," he said. "Transform and I'll carry you. You are right. I do move faster than you."
She transformed and he tucked the gray datapad under his arm. "Let's go."
Author's Note:
A little action here, and a small mystery or two to keep things interesting. I have always imagined the datapads mentioned throughout this story to be a little bit like those nice tablet computers. They have a screen and an interface for manual input, touch screen, or stylus. They can open up clamshell-wise, like a regular laptop, or the screen section can pivot around and fold flat. They're small enough for an average sized TF to hold in one hand, so a little bit larger than a standard Earth laptop of today. Codex loses some mass when she transforms, but not nearly as much as Blaster or Perceptor. In robot mode, she's a little shorter than G1 Rumble.
Some more vocabulary:
Cybertronian acid rain: It is very corrosive and capable of short circuiting a Transformer in the space of a few kliks. Not a pleasant way to die.
Seekers: The standard Decepticon jets, ala Starscream and co.
Astrosecond: An undetermined, but minute amount of time. I'm using it here as an analogy for "second".
Iacon: The last Autobot stronghold on Cybertron before the launch of the Ark. It occupies the planet's North Pole. It's a city-state.
Nova Cronum and Polyhex are located to the south of Iacon, and they are next to one another as well. Nova Cronum was known for being a center of science and learning, Polyhex was the network command hub and satellite command center, so a logical place to put a communications tower.