"Inconclusive?"

"Yes, sir."

Optimus Prime lifted his optics from the datapad to Prowl. "In all the time I have worked with you…"

"You have never received an inconclusive report."

"Yes," Prime set down the datapad on his desk and took the seat behind it. "Prowl, I know someone on the Autobot side shot first. And I know you know this as well."

"Yes, sir."

"And you…don't want to find out who that was?"

Prowl hesitated. "In…the light of the outcome of this particular situation, I think that yes, we should know who shot first, and they should be dealt punishment accordingly, however, I feel that we should…appreciate the efforts of our soldiers to think for themselves and take action when they feel action should be taken." He paused. "At least, in this situation."

"You feel that if that person had not taken the shot, the mission would have ended in failure."

"I informed you as such beforehand that the probability of rescuing the human alive would only be twenty four percent, and that is with the most optimal of circumstances. However, Megatron had his army present, including Seekers and Constructicons, and was already making away with stolen energon. Before we had even taken the field, he had reneged on his part of any negotiations that were to have taken place."

"But the human was alive."

"I doubt he would have been after," Prowl frowned and let his door wings sag. "Sir, I understand that such a result to this investigation is a complete breach of protocol, and siding with this course of action would be completely against the Autobot code of diplomacy and attempts to resolve all conflicts in a peaceful manner when possible, however, I am more than willing to take on the consequences of the actions…"

"Its fine, Prowl," Optimus interrupted. He brought out another datapad and held it up. "It had been an accident. Bluestreak had slipped on the trigger. He told me this morning."

Prowl tried not to let his surprise show. His lips parted. "Are you…sure?"

"Yes. I understand that you feel the need to protect our soldiers, especially when the life of a human is involved, but in such a circumstance, we did get lucky that no one was badly hurt and that the human survived the ordeal."

A scowl threatened to mar Prowl's faceplates. "Yes, of course, sir. It won't happen again."

"However…I am glad to see that you trust your subordinates. Their actions may not have been logical, or possibly could not have been, and yes we relied on chance for the outcome of this battle, but it is always good to see that you are willing to take that chance if your subordinates feel it may be the right course of action."

Prowl felt his logic circuits try to keep up. "Yes…sir. Of course."

Prime dismissed him, and he left, trying his hardest to understand just what had happened.

All he knew, however, was that he was angry.

……..

It had come out before he could restrain himself. He was off duty. So was Sunstreaker. He knew the frontliner would be in one of two places: wash racks, or his quarters.

Prowl found himself in the wash racks, his fists clenching. Sunstreaker was washing up, and Hound sat on a bench off to the side, trying his best to chink mud out of his armor between his hand and wrist. Both looked up when he entered, and he forced himself to calm down. "Hound, if you could please give me a few breems."

Sunstreaker looked at the jet spray that was currently showering him with cleanser. Hound nodded and left.

Prowl turned to Sunstreaker, who continued as he had before. This angered Prowl even more. He wanted to burst out in anger, to let it just go, but…

"I do not appreciate being made to look like a fool in front of Prime."

Sunstreaker didn't even look up. "I asked Bluestreak to confess because I knew you'd try to take the blame yourself."

Prowl's fists clenched more. "What are you trying to do?"

Sunstreaker turned to him and allowed the cleanser to spray down his back. "Making sure you aren't a drone."

"I thought you said that's not what you saw." Prowl shook his head. "Forget it. This is absurd. In the future, please do not withhold information during an official investigation. I am not your friend, Sunstreaker. I am your superior officer, and I do not appreciate being made to look like a fool, or being a part of any 'experiment' or prank you or your brother may feel is necessary to pass time between patrols and battles."

Sunstreaker frowned, his optics seeming to darken. "I didn't withhold information."

"You had Bluestreak confess."

"That doesn't mean he did it." Sunstreaker stepped out from the cleansing shower and allowed it to turn off automatically. "Look…I wasn't trying to get you in trouble." He frowned and pulled out a cloth. "You know what? Forget it."

Prowl caught his arm as he was trying to go by. Sunstreaker looked at his hand, then at him, his glare burning. Prowl glared right back, his optics cold despite what he was certain was anger showing through to his faceplates. "Do we have an understanding, soldier?"

Sunstreaker wrenched his arm away. It gave a squeal of protest, and the yellow twin cupped his wrist. "Yes, sir."

Prowl let Sunstreaker leave, his fists clenching once more.