"I feel like med bay is becoming my secondary quarter" Starscream greeted Knockout and Breakdown with a rumble", how is the little pest?"

The seeker looked around, spotting the human lying on a bare table in the far corner of the room. She was recharging, as she has been a lot during the past few days and even when she has been awake she hasn't left med bay or done anything else than brooding. Albeit Starscream was standing some distance away, he was completely aware of the blue glow on her cheeks. "What a waste of energon. Pathetic."

"Actually, she can afford it", Knockout disagreed, surprising the seeker, "look at these readings."

Starscream moved in closer beside the doctor, looking the readings over, then frowned, "Knockout, I am not a medic! What is this?"

Breakdown chuckled lowly, making the commander scowl at him and explained in Knockouts place. "The human's consumption of energon is the lowest we have ever encountered so far, even considering her small frame. She is metabolizing the stuff surprisingly effective."

"We have been able to perform further tests on her" Knockout added, "I needed to readjust my best microscope in order to do so but it was worth it, considering the test results diverged significantly from expectations. For example,…"

Starscream cut the doctor off with a scoff. "How do you know they diverged? Wouldn't that presuppose to know what is 'normal' for a human being? Tell me, Knockout, have you been expanding your horizon as a doctor?"

The seeker sneered at the red mech but the doctor only rolled his optics in irritation. "Of course, I did! Have you already forgotten what Lord Megatron was threatening us with in case we wouldn't be able to fix her the first time? As a matter of fact, we almost killed her back then, only sheer luck has been saving us! I do not intend to risk my lustrous finish by ignoring her specific biology again."

Breakdown smirked. "You should see him when he tries to study that specific biology. It's hilarious! Haven't seen a mech changing his expressions so many times within an hour. I wonder how his faceplates are dealing with the swift turns of confusion, disgust, surrender and stubbornness."

Knockout purred and nudged the blue mech. "You sure are the best partner one could wish for, Breakdown."

The human started to toss and turn gently from one side to another. That aside, she didn't make a sound. No sobbing, no crying even if it was obvious she was in great emotional pain. The mechs however, only glared at her for a moment.

"If I may change the subject", Knockout pouted, "what about that ship we are pursuing? Are we any closer to it?"

Starscream shrugged. The encounter with the Decepticon originated vessel didn't go exactly as planned. Its course has altered repeatedly in an erratic way since they intended to rendezvous with it, causing the Nemesis to adapt its own course several times. So, instead of reaching the vessel within two days as lord Megatron has intended, they were chasing after it for almost a week now.

"We are closer, actually. Or should I say, finally? I expect us to catch up any minute. Though, even with Soundwave's skilled observation techniques, we are no closer to explain what exactly is going on with it."

The human suddenly woke up with a violent intake and hiss, looking around and panting heavily. Starscream huffed, clearly annoyed, when the human looked around and focused her glare at the three mechs. After she has calmed down a bit she realized her face was all wet with tears but she didn't bother to wipe them away. Before any of the mechs could start to plague her with comments in a condescending manner, the ship made a harsh move, as if crashing into something. The human almost fell off the table.

"What was that?", Breakdown asked while trying not to waver. "Are we under attack?"

The seeker didn't need to assume anything, as Megatron's voice sounded in the med bay. "Starscream, Knockout, report to the bridge at once! We have reached the vessel." There was a brief pause, then their leader added: "Bring the human as well!"

Said human looked up tiredly and with an emotionally impassive face. She didn't even fight or tried to get away from the seekers servo, who was grabbing her unceremoniously, carrying her out of the med bay, while the other mechs followed their commander.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Megatron couldn't take it any longer!

If he had known in what state the human would be left after travelling to that graveyard, he maybe would have forbidden it. It was not like he could feel her feelings or hear her thoughts at any time, thanks Primus, but when it comes to strong and deep emotions such as the grief she was struggling with right now, he could hardly focus on anything else than her pain.

As he has felt the anger within her, the growing rage, he thought he could deal with it perfectly, for he was no stranger to such emotions. He remembered feeling the same way, the passionate fury after finding out the high council had been rejected his vision of a newly defined order back on Cybertron so many time ago and denied him the title of a Prime only to see how it was handed over to Orion Pax, whom he had considered a brother back then. His former friend's betrayal in front of the council and the fact that the matrix of leadership was given to him shortly after… That rage has changed him into an even more radical mech.

The anger was still dwelling within her, of course, and will be for quite some time but right now, with all the grief and sorrow and numbness, she was not bearable! That connection was all but inconvenient and he was no patient mech. He would pull her out of that pathetic state his own way!

"Lord Megatron", one of the drones who was maneuvering the Nemesis piped up, "we have a visual on the vessel. We are approaching its position, though it still doesn't answer our hails nor does it demonstrate the intention to decrease speed."

The warlord growled. "I have had enough! We shall give them a proper motivation to heed their lord and master. Power up short range weapons! Disable their energy core so they are forced to stop!"

The present drones obeyed the warlord's orders and fired a calculated set of shots at the other vessel. They didn't need to wait long for a response as the ship fired back at them surprisingly, making the Decepticon leader holler in anger. "They DARE to attack! Fire again! Disable their weapon systems as well! I will no longer allow them to fool me!"

The drones fired at the vessel and disabled both, their navigation and weapon systems with impressive precision. The warlord opened a COMM. "Starscream, Knockout, report to the bridge at once! We have reached the vessel." A thought struck him and he sneered. "Bring the human as well!"

Soundwave approached his master with his visor displaying the few information he has gathered on the ship. "So, it seems to be a science vessel, how intriguing! But how is it they were firing at us? Are there Autobots aboard who invaded the ship?"

Soundwave's visor buzzed, showing further data. The ship didn't have any known identification, nor were there any signs of intruders or life signals. It was maneuvering on its own. It was also shielded to prevent unauthorized access via ground bridge.

"You can easily break through that shield by decoding the shield's frequency. That ship may be of good use. I don't want to breach in to access the vessel."

Soundwave nodded and started to modulate the shield frequency as the doors opened with a soft hiss, letting in Starscream and the other mech Megatron has summoned, including the human who was sitting in his second's clenched claws with a numb expression. The warlord stifled another growl.

"Starscream, gather some of your seekers to cover you and Knockout while investigating the ship's value as soon as Soundwave disables their shielding. If this truly is a scientific vessel I want to know exactly what they are working on."

"I assume, they didn't just tell us", the silver seeker smirked, "they wish for the hard way then."

"Indeed." Megatron turned to his second and medic with a frown. "They attacked us a moment ago. Proceed with caution. If there are Autobot invaders, call for backup. If you encounter our kind, demand to speak with the one in charge of the vessel. He shall report and explain himself directly to me."

"Yes, master."

Soundwave turned to Megatron again as he succeeded to disable the other ship's shielding, however displayed on his visor, that he couldn't access the inner systems of the ship yet. There must be another kind of shield, cloaking the databank from the inside. It would take some time to crack that one.

The surveillance officer glanced wordlessly at the human. 'You will be connected to me while accessing the ships systems from the inside. I will lead you through the flow of data to locate the important information.'

The women flinched when her mind was simply invaded by Soundwave's presence as it has been before. It was terrifying how easily the mech was able to do so.

"But… I don't know how to link to the systems at all", she said with a lazy voice, "yes, I did it once but I was unaware of doing so."
Starscream growled lightly when the human piped up, assuming she was having a conversation with the silent mech again. Megatron didn't need to hear any of Soundwave's words to conclude the plan he himself has made up already. He glared at the human.

"You will accompany them so that we can download the data the ship's crew is obviously trying to hide from us. Soundwave will guide you in your task. You are to follow his commands. As you are to follow those given to you by either Starscream or Knockout. Are we clear?"
The human looked up at the warlord from Starscream's now relaxed servo with light confusion, but nodded and hummed quietly. "Yes, my lord."

Megatron watched the small group leaving the bridge. The task given to the human was not an easy one therefore it should distract her from the dark thoughts and pull her out from the numbness for the time being, giving the warlord a little rest.

oooooooooooooooooooo

She graciously was allowed to walk on her own after they reached the other side of the ground bridge. She felt violated in being forced to participate in this mission but knew she didn't have a choice. She looked around with a grim expression on her face, observing the surroundings as well as the faces of the mechs above her. They had their blasters transformed out even before they have entered the ground bridge.

She has expected to be greeted by one of the foreign ship's crew members. But the corridor they have landed in and which looked quite similar to those of the Nemesis lacked any presence beside their own. No one was waiting for them, no one was trying to defend the ship from intruders, no one welcomed them.

"That's odd, isn't it?", Knockout vocalized what she was thinking, "I have expected a welcome committee of some kind. Well, better there is no one out there who can scratch my …."

Starscream grumbled annoyed, cutting the red mech off. "Stop brabbling and start investigating. You are here as a science officer after all, are you not? Do your handy work, doctor."

She didn't listen to their verbal fight as she closed her eyes reluctantly and tried to access the ships systems. It didn't take long for her to feel ridiculous. What was she supposed to do? Stretch out her inner feelers? Was she supposed to feel anything at all? She was getting angrier by the second which startled her all the same. She didn't know herself being this impatient and easy to lose temper. She felt so different, since…

'Just look around.' Soundwave's specific voice echoed in her mind. 'You will in fact find a connection on your own soon. The moment you access the systems, I will stabilize the link immediately, making it easier to search through the data you are not yet able to comprehend.'

She scowled but moved on after the mechs who have finally decided to proceed with their weapons ready. She had to run of course to keep up with them. They crossed corridor after corridor, searched in some quarters but found nothing more than creepy silence. It was only when they reached the lifts they realized they were stuck. One Vehicon reached out to the lift's console but shook his head shortly after.

"I am not able to access the lift's controls", the drone informed, adding: "and I'm quite sure there is no other way to reach the other decks."

Knockout scoffed: "Even if we could reach the other decks, we still don´t know the structure of this ship. Wherever we go, we will always have the disadvantage of not knowing what to expect."

"We don't have much of a choice", Starscream answered with an unsettled expression on his faceplates, "We will have to call in for another ground bridge whenever we need to access another deck until we find something of use. Or someone! Where the slag are the ones who run the damn ship!? It undoubtedly cannot…"

The doors opened with a hiss, startling all present mechs and provoking them to aim inside the empty lift. Starscream stared at the one Vehicon beside the lift's console angrily. "You just said?"

"It wasn't me, commander!", the trooper defended himself, looking around as confused as all the others. It was not until Knockout poked on the commander's shoulder plates, gesturing to the human whose optics were glowing brightly blue in a very particular manner.

'Excellent. Now, follow my lead.' The woman nodded absentmindedly, making it clear to the unit she was taking Soundwave's orders right now. They waited.

The silent mech lead her through utmost confusing data, using her as a link. He found the ship's plans, his first target, quickly and converted them so she would be able to read them easily. She frowned but nodded again.

'Stay focused. I need to search the ship's systems for further information but in order to do so, I still require you as a link. That aside, you will lead the troop to the vessel's science lab.' He showed her the most direct way. 'It will be difficult to divide attention.'

Difficult was no word to put it! She didn't even manage to turn her gaze to the mechs beside her without corrupting the link. The lift closed. She felt both Soundwave's pull on her mind again and the questioning and impatient glance from Starscream all at once. How was she supposed to do that!

She scowled, trying to not lose her cool. She took a deep intake, more out of habit than of necessity and managed to open the lift again. "Soundwave discovered the ship's structure", she informed the mechs through clenched teeth, "We are to reach the science lab. I will lead the way and handle the systems to get there."

"Then by all means", Starscream bowed sarcastically, "lead!"

They all fit into the huge lift and moved down to the ship's belly. The woman even had to focus on walking without bumping into a wall or a mechs ped, amusing them all to the pits! She felt how Soundwave was only partly able to search the ship's systems efficiently with her being unable to do the multitasking. Though, the lab wasn't far. She should be able to focus on the task at hand until they reached it.

As the lift stopped violently, she was endowed with angry glances from the Decepticons, especially from Knockout who has crushed against the lift's wall. The door opened, and she all but froze while Starscream, the medic and the troopers aimed their blasters into the hallway, where several mechs were lying on the ground everywhere. Their chassises were badly damaged and they didn't need to guess what had caused their demise. Half of the corridor didn't exist anymore. Debris and melted metal were blocking the way to the science lab, if it even was still intact. There was no way to get in there.

When it became clear there was no one online to threaten them, Knockout approached one of the dead mechs and knelt beside him to examine the motionless chassis while the others waited in front of the lift alerted. Starscream looked around with confusion, partly hiding behind his seekers.

She felt that pull again, more persistent this time and realized, that she has been blocking the silent mech out of surprise and shock. "I am sorry, Soundwave", she tried to establish the link again and explained, "the way you told us to follow is no more. Something blew up the whole corridor along with the mechs who had been inside here at that time. Is there another way…"

'Stay put, all of you', the silent mech only said and rushed through the database even more frantically, forcing the woman to hiss and concentrate even more. He searched for very specific data now, personal log entries, and quickly found something. She was only able to focus on that one task right now, so she didn't hear Knockout murmur.

"Odd. Beside his horribly looking chassis, there are strange marks all over him. The others seem to be in a similar state, though I think what truly caused their demise was still the explosion which," he waved his servos to the scraped end of the corridor, "well, which blew up the lab in the first place."

Suddenly, there was a clang emanating from the walls, like echoing through the shafts surrounding them. It sounded like something was hitting the walls now and then. No. somethings were crashing into the walls! All mechs aimed their blasters all around them, getting one another in the line of fire.

"Idiots!", Starscream hollered in anger, "you will end up shooting yourselves and me! Lower your weapons and await my commands!"

Before they could comply, the ceiling breached slightly with a jerk, causing a catastrophically panic after the mechs and even the human, who disconnected from Soundwave immediately, realized what came tumbling down at them…

oooooooooooooooooooo

Soundwave quickly found the important log entries and activated the holographic emitter on the bridge to display them. Megatron turned to the hologram of an unknown but obviously old and sick mech. The image was flickering, as if they had not been enough power left when it had been recorded but the warlord noticed the numerous marks on his chassis nevertheless.

"This is the chief commander of …" There was static, and the hologram looked like breaking down but reappeared again. "…no longer. I had to cut the power to the science lab in order to avoid a spread…" Static again.

Megatron scowled at Soundwave but the silent mech didn't move. He couldn't do more than piecing together what was left of the messages.

"…had to destroy the lab but they have survived!... The experiment went terribly wrong! How did that happen? We took every safety precautions but… escaped nonetheless. Now, they are everywh..."

The log entry displayed formulas now, a mass of scientific readings and logs which the warlord studied quickly with a frown. They were somewhat familiar.

While the data kept displaying, the sick mech's voice could still be heard in bits and pieces. "… we… unlikely to …survive… destroy this vessel on sight if …. "

The warlord's optics opened wide with realization. He knew the formula because it was HIS! But when he saw what those fools had been intending to do with it, he all but hollered at Soundwave.

"Open a ground bridge, NOW!" He turned away from the hologram and opened a COMM to his second. "Starscream! Get off the ship at …" There was only harsh static and no one replied. Megatron roared: "Starscream!... Soundwave, why is the bridge not open yet?" He ran beside his surveillance officer to observe what he was doing, "the shield frequency has changed again?! Crack the code and get them out of there, immediately!"

oooooooooooooooooooo

"Scraplets! SCRAPLETS!"

They were everywhere!

As the ceiling has breached, small metallic balls began to fall upon them. The woman has not seen them before, but her instincts were shouting at her to run for it! The balls opened their eyes and their mouths, baring their many rows of tiny but crazy sharp teeth. And they dove on all of them, chasing after every mech on sight. The troopers stroke out wildly, used their blasters to fire at the small parasites and even tried to escape from them but they were trapped! The lift was closed, the other way was blocked and since she has lost the connection to Soundwave, she wasn't able to do anything more than to avoid being trampled by one of the mechs peds.

The woman on the other hand didn't seem to be a good meal. So, she looked around frantically and finally fixed her gaze onto the breach through which the small creatures were still flooding in. She didn't have the time to think when she linked herself to the system again all by herself and instinctively established a force field on the breach to hold off the scraplets from invading the corridor further. But the remaining ones already inside still dove hard at the shrieking mechs. She could see Knockout who has transformed out his surgical saw in an attempt to slice the little pest, crying: "My finish! My beautiful finish!" And she saw Starscream either hiding between his seekers or firing at the parasites and hitting his own troopers recklessly. What kind of commander was he!?

She hissed suddenly, when one of the small creatures bit her in the left wrist out of nowhere. It startled her more than it hurt which confused her, but the confusion only deepened as the scraplet fell off her and stopped moving at all. She lifted her head and realized the ground was covered with dead parasites which have all fallen from the mechs they have bitten. Another one bit her in the right shoulder, causing a hiss out of the woman when she felt a trickle of energon running down her back. That's it? They just needed to hold on until the scraplets drop dead after their bite?

Even the mechs seemed to realize that fact eventually. They smashed the rest of the tiny creatures effectively and allowed themselves to tiredly fall on the ground when there were no scraplets left but jumped to their peds almost as quickly when a ground bridge opened in front of them. Starscream was the first in line to rush through, followed by Knockout. The mechs left the ship one by one in exhaustion, their frames still trembling from the panic before. As only a few of them remained, the force field which was preventing the other scraplets from flooding the corridor gave in all of the sudden.

"RUN!" the woman cried out and lashed forward herself. Of course, she has not been able to hold them off properly! She still did not know WHAT she has done at all! And right now, she did not know what to do about the incoming pest as well. They would dash through the ground bridge and attack everyone on the ship!

She ran as hard as she could and reached the bridge right before the parasites did. As she raced through the vortex, she remembered something that Soundwave has shown her during their first conversation ever. She has not been able to comprehend it back then and did not now, but she used her newfound abilities almost unconsciously to destabilize the swirl, making it explode from the inside. The scraplets which already have managed to enter the bridge got crushed and she was blown out from the ground bridge right in front of the furious warlord.