This one didn't change much, other than Prowl's reaction, since this is where Riella's character started to adjust into what it is now. Also, there was a title change, because the original was silly.
Chapter 11: Front Line
Riella flipped gracefully back onto her feet, explosions shattering the ground around her. A Decepticon drone loomed over her, firing indiscriminately. Mentally thanking Primus for the drones' poor aim, the femme shot a quick laser bolt into its CPU, deactivating it, before spinning and driving her right wrist-blade into the neural cable of another.
A young mech sprinted toward her, dark blue and white paint practically invisible under the layer of dust, smoke, and energon. Long way from the Towers, Riella reflected grimly. Long way from anywhere civilized, come to think of it.
"Riella! You alright?" he yelled over the clattering of metal and explosions.
Riella slammed one blade back over her shoulder, catching the drone behind her in the chestplate and knocking it backward. A quick, powerful blow to the head finished the job. "In one piece, Mirage. Status?"
The young mech shook his head. "It's bad. We lost Thunderblast right off, and Flareup and Airazor are both down with bad injuries. First Aid said to tell you we need a triage area stat. Oh, and comms are still down."
"Copy." Riella spun and blocked another swipe from a drone, pushing its arm up and allowing Mirage to shoot it down easily. "Use your cloaking generator, try to get to the top of the pass. Bluestreak should already be in sniper position near there. Signal the 'bots at Tyger Pax that we're on our way – use cyber-optic code if you have to. If you see the Twins, tell them to report to my location immediately; I'll help Aid get the injured clear of the field and set up a temporary triage space."
"Got it." Mirage knocked another drone out of his way. "Should I call for backup?"
Riella rolled her optics. Sometimes scouts reassigned to a combat unit could be annoyingly naïve. "Mirage, we are the backup. Now go!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Mirage bolted, disappearing about three steps away. Riella watched her latest student's trajectory for a moment. Primus look out for you, Mirage. You'll need it. With that final thought, she whirled and flung herself back into the melee, angling in the direction of First Aid's signal.
The medic was, at the moment, trying to tend to Flareup and defend her at the same time. Riella body-slammed the nearest drone, sending it flying, and fired rapidly into the others. They took the hint and backed off a few steps – they were programmed with basic self-defense routines, after all – and Riella took advantage of the breathing space to snap, "Aid, are you alright?"
"'M fine," First Aid replied distractedly. "Flareup won't be if I don't patch this energon line!"
"Do what you need to. I'll cover your back." Riella smashed one fist into the face of a drone that got too close, spun, and decapitated another in one strike. "Did you get to Airazor yet?"
"Yeah, Icelight's still with her, out of the battle zone. Over on the left flank."
"So we can't count on them for backup." The femme dodged a laser blast – okay, keep an eye on that drone, it was a better shot than most – and glanced over her shoulder quickly. "Anyone seen the Twins?"
"Riella?" A familiar voice shouted her name from somewhere to her left. A moment later, the drone blocking Riella's view exploded, sliced through from two directions, and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker bolted through the gap, spinning and taking a few steps in opposite directions to cover Riella's back.
"Raj said you needed backup?" the golden warrior asked, casually slicing the head off yet another drone and firing quick, precise shots into the army surrounding them. His brother spun and lashed out to the left and right, bisecting two drones simultaneously.
Riella scanned the area quickly, checking to see who she had. "Affirmative. Sideswipe, help First Aid move Flareup. Those two will pull back with Icelight and Airazor and set up triage out of the battle zone, while the rest of us meet up with Mirage and Bluestreak up on the ridge. We're running out of time – Optimus's team is counting on us to break the standoff. We lose Tyger Pax, we lose this entire sector. Copy?" At the chorus of affirmatives, she continued. "Sunstreaker, cover the rear. I'll take point. Do not get separated from the group, and try not to die. Roll out!"
Prowl paced impatiently outside of the medbay, traces of wear starting to appear in the concrete. "Will someone please tell me something? Anything!" Riella? Riella… He couldn't sense anything other than that she was still unconscious. No pain, so not dying, but…
"Easy, kid," Ironhide growled. "Ratchet's got her well looked after. And she's a tough femme, I'm sure she'll be up and around in a couple of days."
"That's fine for you to say," Prowl snapped. "Chromia survived her fight with Reflector with no injuries. You aren't waiting to hear what her condition is!"
"Yeah, but I have before!" the weapons specialist retorted. "So don't act like you're the only mech ever to worry about your femme! Primus, kid, all of us know what you're going through, okay?"
Prowl was about to snap back at him when the door opened and Ratchet stepped out. "Prowl? Get your aft in here."
The tactician practically knocked over the medic in his rush for the berth. Riella's slender frame lay perfectly still under the sheet, but her lips were set tightly, and every now and then her optics would flash as though she was trying to communicate. Her sparkmate reached down to touch her cheek gently, studying her face for a long moment before turning on Ratchet. "Is she alright?"
"I've repaired what I can," the senior medic reported calmly, unfazed by Prowl's glare. "She'll be sedated until her self-repairs start to integrate the patches. I don't know how long that will take. She's not in pain, if that's what you're wondering. From her expressions, I suspect she's dreaming."
"Is that bad?" Prowl gently stroked one of Riella's hands.
Ratchet shrugged. "Only if she starts reacting to them physically, which Riella isn't in the habit of doing, to my knowledge." When Prowl looked back down at Riella, the medic reached out to rest a hand on the younger mech's shoulder. "She'll be okay, Prowl. Stay with her for a while. Might help keep her calm."
