Chapter 3 - Claustrophobia
Warning: Contains some coarse language.
Disclaimer: If it exists, I probably don't own it. Hasbro and other own transformers and related characters.
Author's pre-chapter note:
One five hour reflux later and I'm ready to start with typing this chapter up. Not sure how long the typing will take, but probably from about now till I post it.
T21.00 /Decepticon Auxiliary Base
"Hrm," Megatron's facial expression changed abruptly. Things were not going exactly as expected from what appeared to be a simple case of energy-exhaustion. Something else was going on. "Perhaps you did not miscalculate after all, Soundwave. Proceed."
The unreadable blue mech stepped forward, a vibrant glowing vial of analytical/medical grade energon held delicately in his large metal hands, along with a needle that was large even by giant robot standards. He pushed the point through the vials flexible diaphragm and drew up the bright fluid as the Decepticon leader turned Thundercracker onto his front with a motion that was rather surprisingly gentle.
Soundwave moved to inject the needle into the soft silicon membrane where the offline Seekers head met with his neck. He paused. Somebody had beaten him to it if puncture marks were anything to go by.
"Megatron -- has Thundercracker had any other treatment today?" His leader looked up in surprise, and it was all the answer that Soundwave needed. "An unknown substance has been introduced to his systems. Without further diagnostics the effects of a direct energy injection are unknown."
"Will it wake him up?"
"Affirmative. Duration unknown, coherency unknown, other side effects unknown."
Megatron considered this, "He could have information. Possibly something we need to know about sooner rather than later. You say we cannot download his recent memory from his data banks?"
"Correct."
"Then continue."
T21.00 /Captured Decepticon Undersea HQ, Upper Level
The Autobots could hear it five stories up. It was a sort of screeching across a range of frequencies and although it wasn't very loud, it was insistent.
Sunstreaker lifted a hand to his receptor, the movement echoed by his slightly dissimilar twin Sideswipe, on the other side of the room.
"What is that? You don't s'pose the decepticons've left us behind any nasty surprises?"
"Almost certainly," replied Mirage, who was over by a wall terminal, "but I don't think that this is one of them."
"Not unless they wanted to annoy us to death," Sideswipe muttered with a sideward glance at his brother, who was too busy with his covert appraisal of his marred paint work to actually notice.
"So what do you think it could be, Mirage?" Hound rubbed his chin thoughtfully and received an irritable reply.
"I don't know, obviously. You're the tracker, why don't you go and find out? And take Vanity and Loudmouth along with you," he sighed, "the entire database has been wiped. If I'm going to get any intell out of it at all I have to do it now. If you would all leave and let me concentrate, I'd appreciate it."
Hound harrumphed quietly.
"Remember what Prime said about 'sticking together'?" he asked, but when Mirage just ignored him he threw up his hands and exited the room. That noise could get on anyone's nerves.
A moment later the twins followed.
Finally, thought Mirage. He considered the recent battle whilst continuing his work. The Autobots had taken the base. So much for Decepticon superiority in combat. Thinking about it, though, the only real resistance they had met had come by way of a tape-recorder and its cassettes. That these had managed to fight the attackers off for nearly an hour before getting not only themselves out, but also the Autobots unconscious prisoner, was actually rather pathetic. Then again, Soundwave had been holding a fusion gun powered by a subspace link to the singularity of a black hole... A fusion gun who also went by the name of Megatron...
All in all, he decided, and regardless of the specifics, it was a victory - and one they sorely needed.
Also, if playing soldier and hacking their system didn't quite count as a holiday -- he didn't enjoy combat and would rather be back on Cybertron, any day -- then at least it was better than being back at the Ark, playing chess with Teletraan-1.
He shuddered. Anything was better than that!
T21.00 /Captured Decepticon HQ, Lower Level
Elsewhere on the captured Decepticon base, another mech was making a good case of proving Mirage wrong, whilst Hound led the twins unerringly towards the source of the transmission.
Sideswipes jetpack had allowed the trio to make short work of getting the elevator system back in working order -- having at least one of them able to fly in a complex heavily renovated to the tastes of the sentient air-craft who had till so recently inhabited it was coming in handy -- and they arrived at the floor from which the transmission seemed to be originating.
Stepping out of the elevator, Hound pointed.
"It's coming from in there."
T20.90 /Somewhere
He had, inevitably, come back on-line. Primus, but he hurt. Damage reports had piled up so high that he ignored the lot, summarizing his status as 'really, really screwed over,' And in pain.
With an effort he managed to dull his perceptions slightly, but as damaged as he must be he would need to implement a manual sensory over-ride in order to be anything like comfortable. He attempted to do so.
His arm wouldn't move. Something was holding it down. That wasn't good -- he didn't like that. He tried to move the other one, it's stuck too. The agonized robot was starting to feel the first threads of panic. Even his leg, the one he could feel, even his head!
Trapped, can't move, stuck to the ground, alone in the dark--
He could handle the pain. Pain was nothing - an occupational certainty - but this all-consuming panic was another thing entirely...
--Stranded in the cold, alone, forever, again.
