If Soundwave though raising his twins was a difficult task, Knockout beat them without problem.
… Alright, he is not necessarily worse, but he is overly curious. Utterly, adorably curious. About any and every little things.
At least he had Laserbeak's help when he couldn't be with him. His remaining cassette (he so hoped the others were okay, somewhere) was all but glad to follow the little hellion if it mean she could stretch his wings. Oh she loved being attached to his creator, but even he needed a little alone time from time to time.
Which was hard with the ever present creator/cassette's link.
Link Soudwave would have appreciated having with the ex-medic, just so he could knew where, exactly, he manage to go this time?
Sighing behind the safety of his mask, Soundwave send a wave of reassurance to Laserbeak, the little one chirping remorsefully from her place on his chestplate since she lost the youngling a little over a hour ago. He couldn't blame her, not when she so diligently followed the other and guarded him so he wouldn't run into someone he shouldn't.
It didn't take long for him to find the youngling, and he couldn't say he wasn't surprise as to where he found him. The Med-Bay was silent when he entered, for once not occupied by soldiers in need of repair, nor by a vain Medic raging about a scratch on his paintjob or too much work to do. No, it was utterly silent.
But because it was didn't mean nobody was there.
Opening a door to the side he cautiously stepped inside. The little mech was kneeling on the desk at the far end of the room, his back to him and his red frame illuminated by the slight light emitted when a datapad was activate. Again, no sounds, but the little frame was trembling minutely, almost imperceptible in the darkness of the room, but still the tiny tremors were there, unconsciously calling for someone. Slowly he made his way to the desk, bypassing the recharging berth and stopped once near it, waiting silently to be acknowledged by the little one.
Seconds, and then minutes passed, but he didn't press. He never pressed with any of his cassettes, and will not for his new charge. He was patient. Finally, after a long moment and without turning, Knockout started;
"I knew him, right?" Red and black optics were focused on the datapad, the screen showing a holographic image of Breakdown reclining against a wall, fast asleep. It was probably taken by the red mechling himself before the ex-wrecker was terminate by this blasted arachnid. "Break … down," Knockout said slowly, as if trying to grasp the name, before nodding. "His name is Breakdown, right? But he is not here anymore, he … left."
How do you say to a youngling one of his close friend (maybe even one he considered family) was offline? That he would never see him or her again? The small consolation was that the one responsible for said mech death was now rotting in the Pit. The youngling eyes were now fixing him, as if daring him to say otherwise, and he nodded slowly. Fresh tears replaced the dried ones, his face crunching up slightly, but he didn't make a sound and returned to the contemplation of the image. Again a long moment passed without a word being uttered, till finally the tears stopped and the tremors subsisted. Ever so slowly Soundwave reached out to the datapad, turning it off, and then scooped the little one in his arms, smiling a little behind his mask when he snuggled next to his spark chamber, his eyes dropping shut in a restless recharge, lulled by the warmth it emitted behind the metal.
Yes, it was a good thing Airachnid was offline. He would have made sure she was if it wasn't the case. He almost wished she was still online.
Megatron stood on the bridge, for once his frame relaxed as much as he dared to as he watched the sunset, rays of blue, orange and red merging high in the sky. He may loath this planet, but even he had to admit it held a certain beauty. He watched the jet fly high, rolling, falling and rising with agility, never once hesitating as he danced in the sky, grey plating illuminated by the setting sun and making its frame come aflame with colors.
He continued watching from the shadows, his red optics never once losing the graceful movements from his sight. Then the Seeker started his descent and slow down to a stop a few feet above the end of the bridge before transforming, landing in a slight crouch before straightening, his wings the last part to place themselves neatly on his back plate.
Starscream stretched a little, arms high above his helm and back arching, wires and cables stretching along in a satisfying way. It was not often he could partake to such a long flight, but frag did it feel good to use his wings! It was such a rarity now that he took each and every opportunity to go for a flight. Going on a mission doesn't' count, since almost every time he doesn't have the time to enjoy it. That and he can think when he is in the air, something he cannot do when he have to take care of almost everything happening on the ship. And people dared ask him why he was so tense at times … It was in these moments he could understand where Megatron come from … now if he could avoid passing his nerves on him …
Maybe one of these orns he could ask him to fly with him? The last time they did they had just arrived on Earth, and not too long after his Master left this planet for what would be three long years. Turning on his heels, helm raised, he observed the myriad of colours painting the sky. They didn't have such light on Cybertron, nor did they have such changing climates. He knew a lot of Seekers who would have loved the challenges this world was offering. Alas, a lot of them were offlined during the fall of Vos, and then during the war. Who knew how many Seekers were left now …
Heavy thuds send small ripples through the ground, and he turned partially to see who it was, only to swiftly turn completely at the sight of Megatron, his pose non-threatening to anyone who didn't know him. He, however, knew better than to left his guard down in front of the mech. It was the look in these red optics that made him stop and relax, his wings dropping from their raised positions.
He didn't have anything to hide, so he couldn't in trouble.
"Lord Megatron …"
"I am surprised to see you here and not secretly watching a certain youngling, Starscream." Megatron cut, optics gleaming as he watched the startled expression on the other. "If I didn't know better, I would say you were scheming something."
"I … N-no! I would never!"
Grey fingers rose toward his right wing and he flinch, but did not moved. If he moved, then the pain would be worse. But the digits merely traced the top of the wing, the touch like a caress, calming him more efficiently than any words would ever have.
"I know." Megatron responded as he continued his ministrations, his optics dimming. And he did. "Even if you could, you wouldn't."
Starscream had closed his eyes under the attention paid to his wing, but snapped them open at that, scowling at the larger mech. He hated it when Megatron did that, when he acted as if he knew everything about every little thing, everything about him! And the fragger knew it, too, if the amused smirk was any indication. And why would he hurt Knockout to begin with? It's not like it could be beneficial for him.
"And yet," the Warlord continued, "I often catch your eyes wandering to him when you think no one is watching. An almost … jealous gleam in your optics."
Starscream stiffened at that, and had to resist the urge to squirm away from the larger frame. "So I am watching him, it's not a crime last I checked!" He replied, trembling as a servo went down his back to maintain him in place. His position was not good. "You forget I'm a scientist, I am entitled to be curious about this phenomenon, no?!" And while this was the truth, they both knew it was not the only reason. A digit gently tapping his lips silenced him, and he raised his helm. Neither spoke in a long moment, just staring at each other before the Seeker finally sighed and dropped his helm against the other's chest-plate with a dull 'clang', allowing himself to calm a little bit. They stayed like this, neither speaking, only taking in the feeling of the other while they could.
"Did you call them?"
"I did. They are quite far away so they don't know when they will arrive. They will try to be here as soon as possible."
Slim fingers were tapping on the digital screen as Starscream mused over the schematics and formulas displayed on the screens before him. Shockwave was not far away, working on his own theories, but he could care less. The greater the distance between them, the better. But they were both scientists, and as such held a certain form of respect for the other – even if they didn't show it. They had different minds, different approaches, and as such worked rather well together. In this aspect, it reminded him of his days at the Academy and the different projects he worked on with his pears. To be able to work on such a strange occurrence, on something that defied all things rationales and just letting this part of him take over was … refreshing to say the least.
There was just a tiny problem.
He was on an impasse.
No matter the angle he looked at it, it didn't made sense. How could such a thing happen?! He took every parameter into account, isolated them, analysed them, combined them, tried everything …
He suddenly stopped tapping, fingers hovering and optics narrowing at the newest result displayed before him.
… and yet, nothing.
A fist came crashing down, followed closely by a helm. It took all his willpower to not throw a fit, even if the idea sounded very appealing to him at the moment. Damn humans and their frigging technology! It was not even advanced! Primitive at best! And yet he couldn't find the 'how'.
… He wanted to break something … bad …
"Damaging your CPU further will be of no help." Came a monotonous voice from somewhere behind him, and he narrowed his optics against the metal.
"It help me think, so fragg-off! And what do you mean by 'further', you mono-optic moron?!" He snarled without even raising his helm, but Shockwave had no difficulty translating the muffled tirade.
"Your CPU is more damaged than I first though if you ask this. I would advise a trip to the Medbay if our CMO was not indisposed." A tic appeared on his left optic, but he didn't rise to the bait. Megatron would not be happy if he got into another argument with the ex-Senator, and as he pointed out, they didn't have a Medic to heal him after. He took a few moments to compose himself before straightening and turning around to face the other. Shockwave was regarding him silently, almost pensively, but it was impossible to guess what the mech was thinking.
"And on your part? Did you find something?"
"Nothing substantial as of yet, but I found that some parts of the machine are missing. They could very well have a role in the process."
"Then we should ask Soundwave to enter into the military network to see if they got them." Starscream proposed with a slight grimace, the aftertaste of having to ask the spy sour in his mouth. It reminded him the other knew everything about everyone – and didn't mind using what he knew as blackmail when the situation required it. "There wasn't much to salvage to begin with. I will go ask now." He needed a break anyway. He didn't wait for an answer before making his way to the door, and Shockwave didn't try to stop him. It was logical, after all, to make a small pause here and there, more so when the person was stress. He briefly pondered the benefice of taking one himself. He didn't refuelled since the morning, and his level of Energon was getting low, so he guess a brief pause is okay.
When Starscream entered the bridge – knowing Soundwave couldn't be anywhere but here – he was surprised by the absence of red. "Soundwave," He called while approaching the silent mech, a faint tilt of the helm signalling the other was listening, finger never stopping in his work. Does he ever stop? "It is a rare occurrence to see you without Knockout, even on your shift. Tired of him already?" He could help the jab, but by now the other knew it was his form to say 'hello'. And the better way to do it was by ticking off his creator side.
Soundwave turned his helm fully to face the Seeker, and even with his mask Starscream could see the annoyed glare he sent his way. How could he know? Try living with the same mechs for eons. Although he was quite curious to what was behind it. To his credit, he did not flinch, but he did rolled his optics to avoid staring at it for too long. Creepy mech with his creepy visor. Soundwave didn't say anything, but show a picture of Laserbeak on his visor. Figure he wouldn't let the youngling alone.
"Whatever. I need you to infiltrate the government's network and see what they manage to salvage from the explosion. It should not be much – seeing we came before they had the chances to – but it couldn't hurt, seeing as we seem to be in an impasse."
Soundwave merely nodded and extended one of his tentacle – for lack of a better word – connecting it to the Nemesis and then to the numerous military satellites in orbit. Done with what he came for, Starscream went for leaving, only to stop. "Do you know where Laserbeak and Knockout are? I would like to see if there was any change since last time." Soundwave displayed a plan of the Nemesis with a moving point flickering on it. The SIC nodded in thank, but was stop from leaving by a servo on his arm. Raising an optic ridge and winglet doing the same in question, he watched as what appeared to be some sort of avian surveying a bunch of young. It took a moment, but then he understood.
"Shut up!"