Sorry, this chapter is a few days late. Things are kind of hectic right now, and although my getting a part-time job is truly good news, it has wreaked havoc on my personal life. :/ I barely have time for myself anymore between doing chores, working and getting my schoolwork done.

To those who are also following Revealing Secrets, I will try to have the next chapter up within a few days - still working on writing it at the moment.

Thanks as always for reading and faving/alerting, and especially for reviewing. Letting me know what you think of my story, whether it is positive, negative or somewhere in between, helps me become a better writer and quite often cheers me up when I'm feeling down. I can't thank you enough, and I hope you enjoy the latest chapter as much as the previous ones.


Chapter Three

Lies

Skywarp drifted down, landing with a soft puff of dust on the runway. His wheels kicked up dirt and grass that had managed to spread across the tarmac and the purple mech transformed, preferring to walk through the mess. No doubt he'd be given the job of cleaning it, but at the moment there were more pressing matters. Namely, finding Jasmine. Thundercracker had commed him, saying there was an emergency back at base and to get home ASAP, which Skywarp had, after making a quick stop at a human store for bottled water. Why the humans insisted on selling a liquid found practically everywhere on their little planet, Skywarp wasn't sure, but the bottles were easier to carry than a river or pond, and cleaner, if the packaging was anything to go by.

After dropping off the few energon cubes he'd collected, Skywarp joined the search for Jasmine, conversing with his brothers over their trine bond as they scanned every square inch of the base.

"We're vastly superior beings compared to that squishy, how can it elude us like this?" Starscream demanded, and Skywarp's audio processors were grateful that his brother wasn't speaking aloud – no doubt the silver mech would be shrieking.

"It doesn't help that the cameras aren't working," said Thundercracker.

"Whose bright idea was that?"

"Mine," the blue mech admitted, closing the door to the generator room, having confirmed that there were no organics inside with the exception of a few hardy molds that would need to be removed at some point – he made a mental note to have Skywarp do that when there was time. "The less physical evidence of the human, the better."

"Well, we don't have any physical evidence right now. It's completely gone."

"Jasmine's a she, Starscream," said Skywarp.

"If Megatron catches us with a human on base..." Starscream didn't have to finish the threat.

The purple mech paused in his weaving back and forth over the base, hovering midair in altmode. "We'll find her before then."

"ETA five minutes," Thundercracker sent, words crackling with urgency. "Starscream, you better be outside, waiting to greet him. Skywarp, cease aerial scans and start searching the base from the ground, starting with your room."

As if I missed anything during the first fifty scans in there, the purple mech thought, not daring to grumble aloud. Megatron might have Soundwave with him and that mech could hear a vocal transmission taking place halfway around the world, or at least acted like he could. Better to hold his silence.

After teleporting to his room, Skywarp set his scan levels as high as possible and began sweeping the room. The results were the same as the last fifty times, and the Seeker shook his head. "No luck."

"Megatron has flown into sight, I suggest you get out here before he arrives."

"Yes, Starscream," he replied, trying to remain calm. Cooling fans kicked in and he headed down the hall, almost tripping over a cleaning bot. "Out of my way," the purple mech snapped, kicking the machine aside in his haste.

The bot made a strange squeaking noise and Skywarp froze, venting air. Surely the solution couldn't be so simple. He bent down, scanning the entire bot, and picked up a small heat anomaly.

"Jasmine, I know you're there, please come out. Our boss is here and you need to hide," he whispered, keeping one optic on the front door, just down the hall. He could pick up the muted sounds of vocal communication; Megatron could walk in at any moment.

A sigh came from under the cleaning bot, then Jasmine crawled out from her hiding place. "I thought, being a Seeker, you'd like playing hide and seek."

"Not when the boss is here." Skywarp held out his hand. "Come on, we've got to get you somewhere safe." Where, though? I'm not supposed to warp while on base and I don't have enough time to reach my room by walking. He looked down at Jasmine, who gazed back, complete trust shining in her eyes. The Seeker shuddered at thought of Megatron getting his claws on the human. There's got to be some place that Megatron won't think to look. Clanking noises came from the door. Slag it, Skywarp, think!


"I apologize, Lord Megatron, Skywarp must have locked it again," Starscream said, bowing to the Decepticon leader while trying to hide his annoyance of being forced to act in such a subordinate fashion. Skywarp better have the squishy hidden or... The silver Seeker's thought trailed off, since he couldn't think of something worse than the punishment Megatron would have for the trine.

His leader's optics narrowed. "Is this a common occurrence?"

"Not really. He does it every few orns."

"Why didn't you mention it during my last visit?"

"I didn't think it necessary to bother you with such a minor detail. Thundercracker, do you have that door open yet?"

The blue mech prodded at different controls, feigning confusion. "Slag it, Skywarp, what did you do this time?"

"Step back," Megatron ordered, pointing his cannon at the door, having lost what little patience he had.

"Lord Megatron, don't shoot the door, it'll take joors to repair."

"Out of my way," the larger mech shouted, and this time, Thundercracker moved, barely avoiding the blast.

Wind cleared away the smoke and Megatron stormed through the hole his shot had made. Twisted bits of metal clattered to the floor and Starscream held back a groan at the mess. Skywarp's going to have a lot of work to do once Megatron's gone. The Seeker stopped in the doorway, horrified by the sight of Skywarp bending over a cleaning bot. If the squishy's inside that, we're slagged.

"Skywarp," growled Megatron.

"Yes, Lord Megatron?" The purple mech looked very guilty as he turned to face his leader. "Is something wrong?"

A large fist slammed into his face, and Skywarp stumbled back, tripping over the bot and slamming into the wall hard enough to send him into a temporary stasis lock. Thundercracker, after a quick glance at Megatron, went over and picked up his brother. "Please excuse me, I will put him in the brig."

"Leave him in there for an orn, maybe next time I visit he won't be foolish enough to play his little games." Megatron pointed at the cleaning bot. "What do you suppose he was planning on doing with this, Starscream?"

"I don't know," the Seeker said truthfully.

Megatron fired a single shot, reducing the bot to a pile of molten scrap. "Well, we won't worry about it now." He started walking down the hall. "Have you sighted any Autobots in this sector since my last visit?"

"No. We would have contacted you if they were around." Starscream focused his processors on answering his leader's questions, trying not to think about the possible death of the squishy. If Skywarp's pet was dead... The Seeker shook his head. Skywarp better not get any ideas about revenge, or I'll send him on a solo mission to the North Pole for a few orns.

"How is your energon store?"

"It can hold us for another orn," Starscream lied, deciding not to reveal Skywarp's frequent trips to replenish their supply. Mentioning that would lead to questions regarding why he hadn't gone himself, and there was no need for Megatron to know his wings were still in the process of healing. A small hologram hid the damage, well worth the energy it took to sustain the complicated system.

"We have a surplus at the main base. If you need some, contact Soundwave."

That would make your day, me asking for help, Starscream thought, hiding a scowl. "Your generosity is overwhelming, but unnecessary at this point of time."

"Very well. I will cancel the next delivery, then."

Oh, slag. The Seeker cursed himself, mind racing to come up with an appropriate response, one that didn't involve every swear word he knew. "We will need it to repair the door you destroyed, Lord Megatron, unless you would prefer us to leave the base wide open to an Autobot attack."

"As commander of this base, it is your responsibility to supply the materials needed for construction and repairs."

"But as our illustrious leader, it is your responsibility to ensure the strength of your outposts." Starscream barely managed to keep sarcasm from flowing out with those words. If he was leader, there wouldn't be an energon shortage, and the Autobots would be nothing but a bad memory.

"Very well. Perhaps I shall have half delivered. Will that be sufficient?" The look on Megatron's face sent a cold chill through the Seeker's spark.

He can't know of my injury, not with Thundercracker altering the camera records...

"I know you're up to something," growled the Decepticon leader, coming to a sudden halt. "Watch your step, Starscream, because if this is another one of your assassination plots, not even your trine will be able to protect you this time."

Starscream kept the relief from his voice with the ease of many years' practice. "Whatever gave you that idea? I am loyal to the Decepticon cause, Lord Megatron. Killing you would hand victory to the Autobots, and we can't have that."

"No, we can't." Megatron shot him a sinister glare, then turned and stalked down the hall to the front door, Starscream trailing after him. "This inspection can wait until the next energon supply arrives. Expect my return in a few solar cycles." Without waiting for a reply, he took off, leaving a confused Seeker standing in the destroyed doorway.

"Screamer, please tell me he didn't leave early because you said the wrong thing and got slagged as usual."

"Starscream? What happened?"

"I am not exactly sure," Starscream admitted, beginning to inspect the damage his leader had left in his wake. "I do know a certain purple Seeker will be doing a lot of repair work for the next orn."

"Not fair! I can't repair that giant hole and spend all day searching for energon not guarded by Autobots or Decepticons."

"It's your fault he shot it in the first place. Speaking of shooting," Starscream added, suddenly remembering the reason for his and Thundercracker's deception in the first place "the cleaning bot got slagged by Megatron, so I sincerely hope your pet wasn't in that thing. There's hardly enough scrap left to recycle."

"No, Jasmine's with me," Skywarp said hastily. "I'll get started on the door right away."

Was it just him, or did his brother sound almost guilty? Starscream's swift mind put two and two together, and he demanded, "Where is the squishy right now?"

"With me," his brother replied, replying in a hesitant manner, like he knew what the next question would be and dreaded the answer.

"Where exactly with you? Please tell me you didn't put it in your spark chamber." When no response was forthcoming, Starscream slammed his face helm against the nearest wall, knocking a few loose bits of metal from the gaping hole. "Skywarp, that's dangerous! Get it out and don't you ever dare consider hiding it there again."

"There wasn't any place else, Megatron was about to walk in-"

"I don't want to hear it. Not even you could come up with a good enough reason to excuse hiding a human in the most vulnerable part of your body. What if she accidentally damaged a spire? Or the radiation of your spark fried her?"

"Is that possible?"

"Maybe," Starscream replied, not sure at all, but willing to lie if it meant his brother would think twice about pulling that stunt again. The tension rushed out of his system all of a sudden, sending him reeling against the nearest wall, which he clutched in order to keep from falling. "If neither of you need me for anything else, I am going to recharge for a joor or two."

"Did you get the generator hooked up?" Skywarp asked.

"Slag." Shuttering his optics, the silver Seeker ran a few calculations and decided he had enough energy left to make it to his trinemate's room in order to finish what he had started a few breems ago. "All right, I will deal with that first. Keep your human away until I am done, if the camper explodes, I do not want you to be going off to find a new squishy because the first one died."

"He needs to go on energon collection," Thundercracker protested.

"Then you can watch the squishy for a bit."

There was a hint of panic in the blue Seeker's swift reply. "But my reports-"

"-can wait, or you can work on them. Just tell it to sit still and not make any sound."

"Is that what you told it when it decided to recharge in your hand?"

Starscream vented air. "Actually, I told it to recharge while it could, but I didn't expect it to decide my hand would make the best berth."

"Jasmine is a she, Screamer," said Skywarp, sounding annoyed.

"Better get started, when you get back there are a lot of repairs to be done," Starscream replied, and terminated the connection with both his trinemates before either could transmit another word.


Skywarp dropped Jasmine on Thundercracker's desk and warped away without waiting to hear his brother's protests. The blue mech scowled at the empty space that had held his brother a few astroseconds ago, then glanced down at the human, who had sat up and was now clutching her midsection, face scrunched in an expression he identified as discomfort.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, turning back to the datapad he had been working on a moment before his brother's rude appearance. If Skywarp doesn't stop warping in this place soon, Starscream is going to have a fit. Something about damaging the structural integrity with sudden vacuums, if I remember correctly.

"Teleporting makes my stomach do flips," Jasmine mumbled, swallowing down the sharp bile attempting to escape through her mouth. It didn't help that she was feeling hungry again, and who knew how long it would be until she could return to the camper. I better starting carrying food around with me.

"Well, if you need to purge your tanks again, let me know so I can move you to a spot where you won't do any damage. At the moment, I would appreciate it if you stayed where you are and tried to be quiet, because this work can't wait."

"What are you doing?" asked the human, ignoring his order as she stood and walked over to peer down at the cryptic symbols on the huge metal encased screen he was holding. "You're Thundercracker, right?" she added, glancing up to meet his red optics with a friendly smile. "Can I help?"

"No, this is a complicated report, and I doubt you can read Cybertronian."

"Cyber... Cybertro..." Jasmine struggled to repeat the word until Thundercracker said it again.

"Cybertronian."

Cybertronian," echoed the human, rolling the word in her mouth. "Is that the name of your language? With all the strange markings? Can you teach me it?"

"Cybertronian is our language, and yes, these glyphs are part of it. No, I can't teach you."

"Why not?"

No wonder Skywarp left in such a hurry, this squishy could probably talk until even his audio receptors failed. "Because it is a complicated language and I don't have time. Now sit down and be quiet." He let a slight growl creep into his words, hoping it would be enough to scare the human into obedient silence, but it seemed to have to opposite effect, because she laughed and pointed at the screen.

"That picture looks a bit like that," she said, pointing from the word "deception" to the insignia on his wings. "What does it mean?"

"It means 'deception', and the similarity is because both symbols were derived from a root character." Thundercracker picked the human up as gently as he could and moved her to the other side of his desk. "Question time is over."

"But-"

"Can you write in your own language?" the mech interrupted, grabbing an empty datapad from a stack he had when the girl nodded, confusion written across her face. "Here, practice on this." He set the datapad to touch-sensitive, gave her a quick demonstration of how to make lines appear on the surface – she had to push rather hard to make even the faintest marks show up until he made the sensitivity higher – then left the human to do what she wished with the datapad while he worked on the report he still hadn't finished.

For several breems Jasmine played about on the datapad, not bothering Thundercracker with any more questions, until he had almost forgotten the human was sitting on his desk.