Chapter 11: A Battle with Music
It was a once in a lifetime chance that the Autobots could not afford to waste. Their human friends had detected the Nemesis, and for some reason, it was low and stationary.
So, with the essence of time in their minds, Optimus Prime had quickly arranged a strike team with the intention of getting on board the warship and retrieving an ancient Cybertronian relic their intelligence had said the 'Cons had gained control of a few months prior. The team consisted of his swift femme warrior, Arcee, his scout, Bumblebee, and one of his second in commands, Jazz.
As they approached the ship on foot, it was soon clear as to why it was low to the ground and unmoving: there was a large, gaping hole in the ship's bow. Jazz whistled at the sight of it. "Wow, 'wonder what caused tha'."
"Wonder what caused it." Arcee stated at the same time as Jazz, awe clear in her voice, before she turned her head to look at Jazz who in return gave her a sly smile.
Arcee rolled her optics at Jazz's reaction to the pair having the same line of thought.
"Ah'm not one for makin' assumptions, but ah think it was lightnin'." Jazz suggested with a shrug.
Arcee nodded in agreement. "There was a big storm last night in this area."
"With a lot o' lightnin'." Jazz confirmed.
Arcee accepted Jazz's idea with a slight roll of her shoulder.
"Autobots." The three 'Bots turned to Optimus, who continued to watch the ship. He did not need to look back at the others to know they were paying close attention. "Jazz, Arcee, I need you two to cause a distraction." Without turning around, he addressed the scout. "Bumblebee, you will be accompanying me. It is in our greatest interest that we retrieve the relic and get out safely without attracting attention. Remember, we are vastly outnumbered, so we must get in and get out with limited distractions."
Jazz stretched out, rolling his neck until it popped, and then turned to Arcee. "Alrigh' lil' lady, ya with meh."
With that, the four split up and worked their way into the ship.
Even with how arrogant and cocky Jazz could be, as soon as he was on a mission, he was completely serious. If it was possible to see his optics, they would be narrowed with concentration. Arcee was the same. Sneaking in by one of the ships exhausts, they worked together carefully while making their way around the ship, dipping in and out of various rooms, weapons constantly armed and at the ready in case of conflict.
The hallways were dark, dank and, as fortunately for the Autobots, empty, so their progress was quick. But unfortunately, with no idea where the relic was, they had to check every single location, increasing their chances of being detected. Of course, Jazz and Arcee were meant to be the distraction and were supposed to be detected, however, if they could get away with the relic and not be spotted at all, then that would most certainly be the best possible outcome. Still, it didn't stop Jazz from kneeling down in the energon storeroom and setting up a remote controlled bomb.
Arcee was stationed across the hall, watching for trouble. "Come on… come on." She hissed, looking at the door Jazz was behind. Clunking footsteps echoed down the hall suddenly, and she flinched. "Scrap."
With the curse said, she stepped further into the shadows, but the troopers were coming too close. She had no choice. Slipping down the adjoining hallway, she ran off into the ship, sending a quick warning to Jazz.
The three troopers, with no idea what was happening, stepped into the energon storeroom together, their task being one of the most boring on ship. They wouldn't have to worry for very long, though. Two skilled hands slammed a pair's helms together, knocking them both out instantly. The last one had a second to fumble for his weapon before he too fell.
The Autobot huffed with his own smug pride. "Ah, you guys are too easy. Yo, Arcee, where are ya?"
"Had to run, Jazz. Try and get back to Optimus. I'll meet you there."
"Rodger." He said and then slipped out the storeroom off into the ship.
Alone, he was even more alert, and knowing now that the halls were not as empty as he had first thought, he kept his finger on the trigger and his audio receptors sharp for even the slightest of sounds.
Heading down one hall, he flinched upon hearing a door behind him slide open and footsteps beginning to follow his path. Stopping, he stepped to the side and into the shadows, listening, waiting….
When the footsteps drew close enough, he jumped out of the dark, weapon at the ready to shoot the Decepticon creep.
The person gasped and jumped a little, hands in the air to prove they were unarmed, just holding a datapad. "Oh God damn it, not again." Swore the person, a femme with short red hair and dark green eyes, her skin lightly tanned, and her clothes showing she definitely was not a solider. Huffing, she rubbed the bridge of her nose and put her other hand on her hip. "Honestly, this is the fourth time this month. I hate turn overs." She looked back over at him, irritation clear on her face. "Didn't you get the note about me?"
Jazz blinked, amazed at the strange conversation. Here he was pointing a gun at her, and she appeared to be taking it as if it was just part of her day. "Uh, sorry?"
"Look, I know you've just come back from some rotation and haven't been on ship for a while but…" She smiled gently and nodded to him. "I'm the new nurse on the ship. Knockout appointed me a few months ago, and Starscream approved it. Everyone calls me 'Scrap'."
The word 'new' hit Jazz, and he lowered his gun and slowly reached out for the black and white armour control on his chest. Fortunately, the nurse hadn't seen the insignia yet. If he played it right, he could get some vital information out of her. He gave his best charismatic smile and nodded. "Umm, ya, jus' back from… uh, mining detail."
The nurse gave him a sweet, spark-melting smile. "I see. Well then, I guess you'll be reporting for a check-up soon? I look forward to seeing you there." She gave him a look that only nurses could, the kind that told a patient to be still and take what was good for them. "Please don't be late. Knockout and I like to use our time effectively."
Jazz fought back a chuckle but then nodded. "Umm, sure, ah'll make sure mah 'ole team be getting' 'n on time."
"Thank you. I appreciate it." She turned back to the data pad in her hand then waved it past him. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a lot of work to do." With that, she began walking past him, but Jazz couldn't let her go just yet.
"Wait lil' lady. Are ya free at ta moment?"
She thought about it for a second and then shrugged a shoulder. "I've just come back from seeing to a patient. Why? Are you hurt?" Her eyes moved to notice he was holding his chest.
Jazz followed her eyes then shook his head. "Ah, no. Armour's stuck, it keeps tryin' ta expand 'n… other things."
She chuckled. "I have to say, you have a very strange speech pattern. But if you are not in need of help, what do you need?"
Jazz scratched his hair for a moment. "Ah was jus' thinkin'… would ya mind meetin' ta rest o' mah team? So they don't… hurt ya?"
Scrap laughed freely at him and then nodded. "That's not a bad idea, actually. I've gotten a little bored of almost being shot at." Her occupied hand waved out in front of her. "Shall we?"
The Autobot nodded, and they began walking down the hallways. It was a little strange, walking alongside a Decepticon, but he didn't want to blow his cover just yet. Luckily, everyone was busy seeing to the repairs, so the halls were completely empty, and the nurse was too busy with writing her report to really pay much attention to him.
"Jazz." Came a sudden feminine voice from his communicator. "Where are you?"
Before the voice could say anything else, Jazz lifted it to his mouth. "Yo! Sorry, ah 'no ah promised ta meet ya afta' ah sent meh armour off ta repairs. Ah jus' met ta new nurse. Ah was plannin' on bringin' her ta meet y'all- he sounds southern, so I thought it should be y'all instead. Ya know, so ya don't shoot her."
The line was quiet, and Jazz prayed to the AllSpark they got the hint.
"Alright Jazz, we're over by the rec room. Why don't you bring her to join us? We'll get some energon ready for you."
Thank Primus, Arcee. Jazz thought before looking at the nurse. "'ight, we'll head over ta ya now." He lowered his arm and resumed walking. "Shall we?"
Scrap nodded and began leading the way to the rec room, eyes forward as they walked.
Jazz looked at her, finding his confusion growing with each second. "So, ah ain't got no memo on yah. How long ya been workin' here?"
"Going on six months now. It's not been easy, I can tell you that."
"Oh? Why not?"
"I had to learn so much when Knockout… kidnapped me."
Again, confused. "Kidnapped?"
Scrap smiled knowingly. "I guess you'll find out sooner or later. I'm not Cybertronian. I'm human, a native of this planet." She watched him for a moment then blinked. "You don't look surprised."
"Well…" He said, pointing to her head. "It's ya eyes."
"Ah." She agreed, nodding. "That is what gives it away most of the time. After all, my eyes are green, and green is an unnatural colour for you. You can get blue, red, yellow and even purple, but not green." She looked up to the roof thoughtfully. "In fact, I remember reading once that the eye colour can change and is affected by the intentions and spark of the cybertronian. That's why Autobots tend to have…" She stopped walking and stared back at the blue visor band across the mech's face, and her own eyes widened as the data pad fell from her grasp.
The Autobot realised he'd been caught and jumped out to grab her, clamping a hand over her mouth as carefully as he could to muffle her shouts, but that didn't stop her trying to kick herself free.
"Optimus." He hissed into the radio. "Got a bit o' a problem 'ere."
Scrap, trapped in the Autobot's arms, kept trying to kick out and get free of him once more, just wanting to get away from him, but Jazz was far stronger than anything she had fought with before, and he was beginning to pull her down the halls, one arm around her waist while the other locked on her mouth.
She yelled as much as she could, but his grip muffled any sound she made. Angry at his maltreatment of her, she huffed and kicked out suddenly on pure instinct and was fortunate enough to catch him between the legs. Cybertronian or human, that was a low and painful shot.
The Autobot grunted at the pain and released her, grabbing the delicate position, and Scrap didn't waste time in turning tail and running as fast as she could away from him, heading down the hall, listening as the dark skinned Autobot followed behind.
Breakdown had told her once that the Autobots were friends to humans, so she hoped he wouldn't fire on her. All the same, when a corner came into view, she took it at full speed, gasping as she found herself looking up on an imposing figure. She had just enough time to take in his optics before he lashed out to attack her, striking her easily with the hilt of a long sword he appeared to be carrying.
The wind was instantly knocked out of her, and she fell to her knees, holding her gut where she'd been stuck. The pain rushing across her told her straight off that several bones had broken in the attack, but before she had chance to recover, she felt the blade end press to the side of her neck, ready to take it off.
Breathing slowly and deeply from the pain, Scrap lifted her head to look at who stood before her. It was a tall man wearing red and blue armour, thick and clear, but as she looked at the dark blue of his eyes, he was suddenly gone, knocked to the floor by another figure.
It all happened so fast; her simple mind could not process it. Even the other Cybertronians could not register what happened.
One second Bumblebee, Arcee, and Optimus Prime were looking down on a female Decepticon, the next they were lying on their backs, all now sporting lacerations to their bodies and all of them disarmed.
The femme, meanwhile, was gone.
They didn't see who, but they had a good idea of the culprit. But it struck them all as odd that they had been let off so easily, disarmed but alive. Their wonder didn't last as suddenly they were set upon in every direction by troops, and a massive firefight had begun around them.
Meanwhile, half way down the hallway, Scrap was struggling to keep herself upright as she was pulled, running away from the fight. Her stomach was rolling in pain and her lungs couldn't work properly at that moment, but she kept running, not wanting to stop, and her saviour wouldn't allow her to.
As her legs began failing, she was pulled sharply to the right and into a small dark room, the light above flickering as it lit up. Her breath came quick and painfully as she leant against a wall, pinned in by the faceless person before her.
Soundwave had his visor turned, looking over at the door he had pulled them through, his body tense as he took a protective stand around the human.
Despite all her pain and fear, Scrap found herself looking up in an amazingly fortunate position. Soundwave was so close to her that the forehead of his visor brushed against her hair, and with the faint light around them, Scrap could faintly see past the tint.
She couldn't make out details, it was still dark, but she could tell that there was indeed a face behind that glass.
She could make out his nose, his mouth and his optics, seeing them stare at the door. But then they moved and looked down on her. His mouth was pressed into a thin, firm line and his eyes remained in a deadpan expression.
A soft light-headiness came over the girl as she looked up at him, but then he leant back, and the face was gone once more. "Remain here." Came a voice from the mask before he stepped over to the doorway and walked out, disappearing as the door closed.
Inside, Scrap's head spun as time caught up with her, and her body failed. She slid down the wall and tried not to pass out, but as time went on, it became the only action available to her.
~#~
"And you don't remember anything?" Breakdown asked as he looked at the human.
"I remember meeting that… what did you call him… Jazz?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I met him, then I realised he was an Autobot, so I ran away… then I ran into this… big red and blue guy."
"Optimus."
"I remember getting hit in the chest then… then that's it. That is as far as I can remember."
Breakdown sighed again as the pair of them worked disinfecting the same medical table. "That's real strange. We found your signal coming from a supply closet, yet you don't know how you got there?"
Scrap shook her head, rubbing a stubborn spot clean. "None at all. I'm just glad you found me."
"Well, a broken support rod is easy to fix."
"Rib, Breakdown, in a human, it's called a rib."
The mech huffed but then looked up and over at the door as it closed. "Soundwave? What are you doing here?"
Soundwave walked over to an empty, clean table and sat silently on the edge, waiting to be seen. Scrap and Breakdown looked at each other, confused by the behaviour. Neither of them had ever seen Soundwave enter the medical bay for treatment before, but there he was. Scrap shrugged and put her cleaning cloth down. "Toss you for it." She said, pulling out an old coin from her pocket, flipping it with her thumb into the air. "Call it."
"Heads."
Nimbly, Scrap caught the coin and looked at it on the palm of her hand. "Tails. You're stuck cleaning." She laughed and left him while heading over to Soundwave. "Soundwave, how can I help you?"
The communication' officer sat perfectly still for a bit longer then held up his right arm, retracting the armour to the elbow again.
Next Week: Scrap learns Soundwave's past and his secret
A/N: It's been an eventful week, let's say that. You might remember that Aria and I were looking for a new editor? Well we had 4 people ask for the job. That was a bit of a 'Wow' moment. Anyway, thanks to SweetSpark22, BlackForestWaltz and to Mamabot on DeviantART for applying but after a long and taxing testing and interviewing process, we made the impossible choice. So I am happy to announce the new member of 'Team Scrap'; Everon Prime. Or as we have come to know her, Nightmare. Say hello Nightmare!
You can say that again Night. To be honest, I think she was more excited about getting a sneak peek at the story than anything else!
Well, since we are all finished, we'll see you all next week, on Sunday, as always. Catch ya then.
Don't forget to review! Love you all!