Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers! or Robots (yeah, sneaky reference buried in there)
Please R&R
(Crack! Quick drabble on how Tracks lost his helm and how it was returned to his frame. Enjoy! And Thank you to everybody who read, reviewed and faved Praxian Mating Rituals, I'm so glad you all enjoyed it!)
How Tracks Lost His Helm
It was night on the ARK and the dim night lighting in the hallway was casting handsome shadows along his deep blue plating creating a nice effect with his Autobot brand framed in orange and red flames, tinged with yellow highlights. Tracks made a note to himself to thank Raoul for that new polish he put on after the Autobot had bragged on about how he was the most handsome mech in the ARK now that Sunstreaker, his barbaric competition, was missing a helm fin thanks to the mysterious thief going about. He'd have to thank the thief as well he supposed, as he almost skipped down the corridor in his delighted glee.
"Hello sir!" he chirped as Prowl stalked by him, the black and white Praxian gracefully prowling down the corridor with a noble gait that even Mirage was a little envious of.
"Good evening" the officer replied neutrally, his optics holding firm to the data-pad he was carrying even as he stopped to talk to the returning bot "I thought Red Alert ordered a curfew?"
"Raoul and I were having a drive" Tracks replied with a grin, knowing how eager the SIC was to catch the thief because of his position as a Commander class Enforcer back in Praxus before Sentinel Prime lured him into the world of politics, through blackmail as his hidden file stated, published by Jazz in his 'Your guide to the Autobot Officers' column in the 'ARK News', a little newspaper of the 'Hip and Happening in the Orange Ship!' as the caption of the Newspaper said. Jazz had gotten a month in the brig for that little hacking stunt and the ARK News was shut down until next year as punishment.
Wheeljack was upset his new transformer size printing press wasn't going to be used until later next year, but the problem was remedied by it promptly exploding and the engineer set about building a 'newer and better' version than the last. Ratchet was not amused.
"Very well" Prowl muttered in his clear 'I'm annoyed at you, but can't really be bothered to discipline you right now if you aren't going to learn from the experience' tone that brought Tracks back from his tangent of thought. "Just get to your quarters and don't appear again until your next shift."
"Yes, sir" he smiled and as he turned the lighting glinted off of his helm and straight into the SIC's optics which had moved up from their religious scanning of his data-pad to make sure Tracks was obeying his order, having learned vorns ago that just because they say they'll do it, doesn't they will, the optic light behind the lenses suddenly turned a lighter shade of icy blue, an almost a snowy white as the reflection activated a dormant string of code...
Suddenly the lighting in the corridor failed, the emergency lighting shrouding the halls in a furious ruby tinge. Tracks paused looking around as he heard Prowl's systems quieten and his pede falls fade into soft hissing shuffles, knowing that the SIC had his back if there were Decepticons around. Guess they had to have called him Prowl for a reason, Tracks pondered as he scanned the corridor for any intruders. Where the hell is Red Alert's alarms when the base needs alerting?
He never saw the heated energon blade swinging for his vulnerable neck cabling.
-Ten Days Later—
Jazz was the first thing he saw when the box his helm was in opened showing off the loud and brightly lit orange medbay. He literally wailed in terror as he saw the gleefully grinning Ratchet fire up a welder with a cheerful looking Wheeljack standing close by.
"Hiya Tracks" Jazz smiled picking up his helm out of his dark prison "I was wondering when Prowl would give me you"
"Prowl?" Tracks shrieked his optics widening his horror "HE done this to me? What kind of SIC goes around hacking off Bots' helms?"
"He's not himself mech" Jazz assured holding Tracks' helm in one servo and giving him a Cheshire grin "He's going through a mating cycle, I'm the target of his programming and you are my shiny new gift, but hey, at least I can practice my Shakespeare with you"
"Why I otta… I'd… I'd smack you if I had a hand!" Tracks spat furiously as the medbay doors opened and Perceptor stumbled in supporting the rest of Tracks' frame. Tracks groaned as his body fell over its own pedes, taking both itself and Perceptor to the floor with a crash "Speak of the devil, here I come…"
Jazz snickered handing the growling helm to a giddy looking Ratchet before heading out of the door, pondering aloud "I wonder what Prowl will give me next… Maybe Ironhide's favourite cannon, it's always kept nice and shiny, plus it did go missing a few days ago… "