Hello! Sorry about being a day late - my entire weekend was taken up by music-stuff. Marching band stated practicing for the summer, so...
Anyway, I got a day off from school today because of the cold weather, so I figured that now would be as best a time as any!
Extras (6) - Recruits
"Megatron was just as busy keeping us on our toes as he was recruiting others to his cause. Almost every other day some new bot shows up and jumps at the chance to get into Tronus' inner circle. Very few make it that high, however. Very few.
"Still, I was surprised to find out that one of the new mechs managed to worm his way in as one of the few actual medics we've got. Although, from the few times that I've managed to speak with First Aid, I learned that this 'Knock Out' isn't thought very highly of. He thinks only of himself and his finish, and when that finish is scratched, you do not want to get in between him and his buffer.
"Another bot who got a good spot in the roster was Chromia. The green femme didn't say anything about where she came from, but she quickly gained a good reputation for knowing our weapons inside and out. Megatron put her in charge of making sure that the other gladiators could take apart and put back together a Nucleon Shock Cannon without having it explode in their faces."
Chapter 7
"What are you doing out here, child?"
Wildfire shook her helm slightly, her audio sensors bringing the rest of her processor to online status at the sound of the unfamiliar voice bringing her out of recharge. Looking up as the warrior femme's optics came online with a confused expression, she caught sight of an unfamiliar figure; not wearing stiff pieces of armor, but more flexible pieces that came down over him like the robes the High Council had been known to wear over their own battle armor.
"I haven't seen a femme like you in this part of the city before," the figure continued, the voice identifying the figure as a mech. "Why are you out here?"
"Waiting," Wildfire replied, quickly realizing that she had dozed off. The warrior femme had quickly changed her confused expression to a guarded one. "I came here looking for someone."
"I doubt that you will find anybot around at this moment," the mech replied, moving to one side. Wildfire caught sight of the empty street and frowned - she had ended up oversleeping. "Why don't you come with me? I have a spare berth in case of such an occasion as this." The mech held out a servo in order to assist Wildfire in getting up.
Wildfire glared at the servo for a moment. "I can get up by myself, thanks." She pushed herself up onto her feet, leaving the mech's servo where it was. She gave the mech another curious look, taking note of the slightly wizened features on his face, and the pieces of metal that covered his mouth, one especially long section dangling down to come to a point in the middle of the mech's form. "What are you doing out here by yourself, old mech? Haven't you been watching the vids?"
"More than you are likely to have been," the mech replied. "The attacks have been nowhere near this place." He motioned for Wildfire to follow him, and he walked out of the alley. Hesitant, the warrior femme followed, wondering if the old mech might actually be a gladiator wearing some sort of fancy disguise in order to trick her into revealing something she wasn't planning on revealing. "What is your designation, young one?"
Wildfire frowned, optics narrowing into slits. "My what?" Her voice came out in a hiss.
The term "designation" had been used at the Well of AllSparks, when those of the lower castes were given the names they would be using for the rest of their life cycles. They were called designations because they were nothing more than numbers and letters.
The mech noticed her anger, but instead of looking surprised or curious, a slight smirk came across his face - Wildfire could only tell because the piece of metal that was right under his olfactory sensor came up slightly at one end. "I see you are one of the many who doesn't appreciate the caste system."
"You got that right, old mech." Wildfire clenched her right servo tightly, prepared for a fight if need be. The mech noticed, and stopped walking.
"No need to become violent," the old Cybertronian stated calmly, raising a servo slightly as he turned to face the warrior femme. "I was making a simple observation."
Wildfire relaxed her servo slightly, but she still kept her guard up in case she needed to make a run for it or fight.
"If you won't give me your designation, what about your name instead?" the old mech suggested quietly.
Wildfire didn't answer for a moment, instead looking at the ground. The old mech, after waiting for a nanoklik, turned and started walking along the silent street again.
The warrior femme considered her options: tell the old mech her name and risk either getting turned in or gaining a new friend, or not tell the mech her name and end up in the same position anyway. It became pretty clear that she would be unable to avoid returning to Kaon, which in turn meant that keeping her name hidden may as well have been irrelevant.
"It's Wildfire," Wildfire finally stated, causing the old mech to stop and turn slightly.
The old mech didn't respond to this verbally; he just gave a slight nod in return and motioned for Wildfire to follow him again, before turning and continuing onward.
Wildfire let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, allowing her cooling fans to continue working properly, getting rid of whatever pent-in hot air she had refused to let go. The warrior femme then, after having another look around at the dark street, continued forward, following the old mech around a corner and into a door in the side of one of the domed buildings.
Upon stepping inside, Wildfire realized the old mech had just shown her a secret entrance...into the Hall of Records. All around her, there were desks with monitors mounted to them, a scant number of figures sitting in the ones furthest away. They didn't even bother to look up as the mech closed the door with a soft click.
"Come, Wildfire," the old mech stated quietly, shaking Wildfire from her curious thoughts. Turning, the warrior femme noted that the old mech was motioning for her to follow him through another door into what appeared to be an office of some sort. "There are some things I wish to speak with you about before I show you where I keep my spare berth." He motioned for Wildfire to come inside, then closed the door behind her.
Wildfire gave the old mech a curious look, raising an optic ridge as he moved around to sit behind the desk...almost like he owned it. The femme slowly started to consider whose office she was standing in.
Especially considering that no one kept hard-copies of hand-written historical entries anymore.
"You're...the Head Archivist," Wildfire stated as she put two and two together. "Alpha Trion."
"Correct," the old mech replied calmly. "It is good to hear that one of the members of the lower castes is aware that I live still. Now, tell me." He leaned forward a little on the desk, placing his folded servos on an open book filled with odd, unreadable runes, a writing stylus of some sort lying right next to it. "Why is it that you are here in Iacon, when gladiators like yourself have been congregating in Kaon?"
"Megatron's doing something," Wildfire stated bluntly. She wasn't planning on telling some old geezer what the gladiator was specifically doing in Kaon, as, while she had heard quite a few things that set her on edge about the mech, the warrior femme was still loyal to his cause.
"And he has need of every single gladiator that lives on the planet?" Alpha Trion leaned back a little, then picked up the stylus in his right servo, twirling it around in his digits. "There is something that is amiss, and it is not that your friend is preparing to get rid of the castes; I knew they were a poor idea before they were implemented." The Head Archivist looked down at the book in front of him and scratched something into it using the stylus. "You seem to be more aware of it than any other Cybertronian I have interacted with."
Wildfire blinked at Alpha Trion's statement. "Before...?" Her optics widened. "You're really old, aren't you?"
"I believe you have made the understatement of the Giga-Cycle," Alpha Trion noted dryly. Wildfire wondered if he had heard anyone else say such things to his face before...or when they thought he wasn't listening. "Now, tell me, what business do you have asking one of my data clerks about the ancient myths of our ancient past?"
Wildfire stiffened. "Ancient myths?" she repeated, frowning.
"Indeed. Stories that originate so far in the past, it is hard to pinpoint their true origin." Alpha Trion's blue optics narrowed slightly. "What I wish to know is how you knew about such things. For a gladiator, you seem to know much of mythology."
"Well, this thing isn't a myth," Wildfire responded shortly. She brought out the vibroblade that she kept stored in her left arm, allowing it to be covered in flames. Noting the look of pure shock that came across the Head Archivist's face, she stated dryly, "I guess you haven't been watching the vids from Kaon, seemingly like the rest of this city." She allowed the fire to disperse, then retracted her vibroblade. "And I'm not the only one who can do something like that."
"Oh?" Alpha Trion appeared to be partially interested. "And who is that, pray tell?"
Wildfire's optics narrowed. "Can I trust you not to tell anybot else?"
"You trusted Orion Pax, did you not?" Alpha Trion prompted. "He has oftentimes come to me with confidential information and for personal advice himself. You need not fear - I have many secrets that I keep myself."
Wildfire frowned, but then nodded. "All right. There are two other gladiators. Three, if you count the shifter-femme, Shape-Change."
"A shifter?" the old mech repeated. "My, it has been some time since I heard of a shifter walking on this planet. And you say it is a femme?"
Wildfire nodded.
"And, what of the other two?" Alpha Trion prompted.
"Sparkseer's a strange mech," Wildfire replied. "He can register Spark signals and see when bots are either lying or when they're troubled."
"A Spark reader?" Alpha Trion blinked in surprise.
"He has some trouble with it, though. If he doesn't keep a hold of a weapon made of a specific alloy at all times, the ability eats away at him. First Aid managed to get him a spear that he keeps a hold of even when he's recharging."
"That level of power always comes at a price," Alpha Trion noted grimly. "He must find a way to release the build-up of power he gains when he is not using his Seeing ability. That is what is described in the myths, at least. What of the other one you spoke of?"
Wildfire's face hardened at the mentioning of the other member of her small group - the newest member. "Jolt," she stated, sounding bitter. "He came from somewhere here in Iacon - a power station or something. He can throw around electrical discharges like they're regular weapons. I got hit with them when he first got to Kaon - I beat him, though."
"You seem to dislike this mech," Alpha Trion noted.
"He follows Megatron like some sort of enamored fool," Wildfire stated bitterly. "Shape-Change and Sparkseer think Megatron is doing something that isn't going to be good. Jolt thinks Megatron's going to save us all and is the only thing that's going to stop the castes from continuing."
"And...what do you think of him?"
Wildfire let out a sigh and shook her helm. "I'm not sure what to think. While he has been acting like he has been keeping secrets as of late, he seems to be the only one who is doing something."
Alpha Trion looked over Wildfire curiously, as though he was considering her words. Finally, he stood up, looking down at the book for a moment before shutting it with a servo, leaving the stylus on his desk. "You have the ring of truth about you," the old mech finally noted. He turned and opened up a door hidden in the wall behind his desk. "You may recharge in there for now."
Wildfire blinked in surprise at the abrupt change in subject. "That's it? No more interrogation? Just like that?"
Alpha Trion raised an optic ridge. "Were you expecting something more from me?"
"I..." Wildfire hesitated. "I didn't know what to expect."
"Well, I am not one of the more...vicious of those you may have come across." Alpha Tripn motioned for her to enter the room. "There is a more ornate berth that I have been taking to avoiding, but I think I will be using it tonight. There is a small Energon dispenser within; I am certain that you will be making good use of it."
Wildfire's optics brightened at the mentioning of the substance, and the warrior femme practically dove for the doorway, into which she disappeared.
Alpha Trion peered in after her, taking note that Wildfire had grabbed a cube-full of Energon and had laid down on the berth, sipping the life-giving substance with a slightly hungry look on her face. The Head Archivist let out a chuckle before closing the door, leaving the gladiator to make herself comfortable and have a long recharge.
That's it for this chapter.
I'm falling behind a little bit on my editing schedule, so it might be a while before another chapter's put up again.
