Time Scale: Nano-click: second ; Cycle: Minute ; Groon: an hour ; Mega-cycle: day ; Orn: 13 days ; Steller Cycle: year ; Vorn: 83 years.
= Comm Link =
:: Bond Speak ::
Chapter 12: Heavy Burdens
Ravage could barely raise her head. She hated this charade. She hardly cared if the war continued or not. She didn't even know if she could draw a breath of concern if Optimus Prime broke into their base right now and took someone captive, claiming to be the next Decepticon overlord. Really, the only thoughts that dwelled in her mind were a thick swamp of what was to come.
Not for her, she knew where a few neutral colonies were and could play war for a few more steller-cycles before stalking away into the darkness. The same could not be said about her siblings.
They were going to offline. Either slow and painfully, treated like little more than possessions by either Blackout or Starscream, or when their sparks sputtered out. Perhaps there would be a margin of caring from the two caretakers, but she was older than her siblings and had seen other cassettes taken in before. They were never treated as well as the creator's true creations and in the Decepticon ranks that promised a short lifespan.
Peds struggling not to drag, she returned back to base and headed back to Soundwave's room.
How much longer it remained Soundwave's quarters was just a matter of time. Most likely someone would try to take it from them. Thundercracker would probably keep his current room and Blackout … Well, if he remained, Soundwave's room would probably become the copter's.
No part of her cared for that mech.
True, first impressions meant little when looking at a Decepticon. Everyone was a good actor at this point or just plan blood-thirsty. After all, you did not survive in the Decepticon ranks if you weren't some kind of liar. Some mechs went with the quiet brooding look, others gained nasty tongues, but most pretended to have brawn backing them up. So, Blackout could just be acting … though she doubted it. It was easier to be the madman than act the part.
And she was certain that Blackout craved violence and blood.
Soundwave had been an expert at reading others and that gift had passed somewhat to her. Of course, he had mind reading to assist him and though many did not know it … So did she. True, her skills were pathetically weak compared to her Master's physic abilities, but she could still grab thoughts from an unguarded mind and there had been a lot of those since Soundwave's demise.
Except for Starscream, of course. She suspected that he had some suspicions about her.
Paying no mind to any of the mechs she passed in the hall, knowing that she would pick up their attack klicks before they even acted, she barely even noticed Blackout calling out to her until he was basically yelling.
"Here kitty, kitty, kitty!"
Stalling, ears going flat against the back of her head, she turned her head and growled over everyone's comms, =Call me kitty again and you will have no more fingers or even a voice box for that matter.=
The copter laughed at her display, whistling, "Just the way I like my femmes: mean. Now, come now pussycat. Megatron wants to talk to yah."
She growled deep in her throat, noting that a few of the passersby had slowed somewhat to look at her strangely. It was not a well-known fact that she was a femme and now there was no one around to keep away unwanted suitors. Some mechs didn't care what form you came in. All they wanted was a quick overcharge and femmes did have ideal sparks. Now, she wasn't worried about being taken advantage of, not really, but when Soundwave was around she knew it would never happen. And that fraggen copter probably knew that as well.
=My siblings are priority … He can wait,= she growled, continuing with her old pace.
"Your funeral, pussycat," he chided as he walked passed her, a dark grin on his face.
For a moment, she wondered who was worse when it came to dark plans: Blackout or Starscream.
Turning tail towards a nearby venting system, making a mental calculation of who was in the hall and how quickly her gender would pass among the ranks, the cat pretended she didn't hear one of the coneheads murmur, "I didn't know Ravage was a femme."
…
Megatron stared at Thundercracker for a moment as the dark blue Con worked vigilantly at his station. The warlord knew the mech was trying to keep as much attention off of himself as possible, but in doing so Megatron found that he liked the thought of making the flier his new Communication's Officer more and more. He was going to originally make the new Communication Officer his Third in Command, but he was slowly starting to disregard that idea. Starscream had too much power over Thundercracker right now. Then again, so could Megatron. A mech always remembered who gave them their power to begin with.
Blackout, on the other hand, was an interesting character. Brash and uncaring, and though that was great on the battlefield, it wasn't ideal for a communication's officer. Megatron needed someone patient who would listen, and of course, the cassettes would automatically go to the mech with that position since they were necessary tools.
He knew the blue mech did not want the position, at all, which was why Megatron's mind kept going back to the Seeker. He couldn't disregard Blackout either though, especially with some dark news from Shockwave.
The scientist had commed before the group got back to Earth and stated that, apparently, cassettes were dependent on their host. Yes, Megatron knew Soundwave's cassettes were his creations, but it was only now that he understood the depth of the bonds between cassettes and their rack. Shockwave had discussed something about a half spark and how it depended on a fully mature spark until they became a full spark itself. Apparently, the cassettes, if they were not full sparks, would offline given time.
Megatron, though he had no deep love for the cassettes, understood an asset when he had one, and almost sent someone to Soundwave's room to check if all the cassettes were still online or not. But he disregarded the thought. If they were in dire need, they would have acted. Then again, dependence was a weakness and Megatron did not treat weakness lightly, except for maybe sparklings or younglings that is. They were a future asset … though he detested any of them being near him. Regardless, he tried not to dwell on the subject too much. Ravage was still alive after all, which was why he had sent Blackout to get the cat-former.
He'd hate to give the subject any more thought when he could just get answers from the cat's mouth. If she ever showed up.
Turning his head slowly, he finally addressed the mech that had been cringing away from him, "Thundercracker … come here. I must speak with you."
Megatron did not miss how Thundercracker's wings fell and yet the mech turned around without hesitation, his expression steely-cool. Megatron's optics dimmed at the face. Each and every day that Soundwave was gone, the more Thundercracker reminded him of the silent mech. Perhaps he was thinking too much about this. Once he ripped Thundercracker from his trine, Starscream's influence over the other mech would fade.
But then again … it all depended on what Ravage told him.
"Yes, sir?" said the mech stoically as he stood before his commander.
"Thundercracker, I have been dwelling recently on something," said Megatron slowly as he placed a digi-pad to the side; the pad containing some information Shockwave had sent about Cassette Rack designs. "Tell me, what is your pain threshold?"
…
Ravage decided not to use the front door to get into Soundwave's chambers. She didn't need unwanted company forcing its way in. So she used the back way through the vents.
Paws leaving footprints in the dust and grit that had collected there over the centuries, she stalled at the mouth of the vent, staring. She didn't even have to enter the room to know what lay inside. She could smell death. It lingered around the place like an apparition that could not rest.
She knew she could not doddle though. Megatron's patience had always been short. She just had enough time to see if there was even a reason to report to the warlord. If her siblings were all offline, she could leave now. She could disappear into the shadows without even a second thought. Everyone would probably just presume that she had wandered off and died like the rest of her siblings.
Jumping out of the vent and onto Soundwave's desk, the first thing she noted was that there was a pile on the berth, limbs were strewn across each other like a pile of bodies. In the dimness, it was hard to tell if they were all offline or alive since there was no color to be had. Straying for a moment, afraid to touch her siblings, she called out softly over their bond.
:: Wake. I have returned.::
There was a stillness at first and then a caw filled the room, two bird-like figures rising in the shadows. This did not calm her nerves. Slowly, she asked the two fliers, :: That is all? Only the two oldest have survived?::
Lazerbeak cawed softly over the bond, his emotions feeling sour and worn, :: Frenzy is still with us, but he becomes weaker by the day.::
She knew the answer, but she had to ask. She had to hear it so her spark would understand. So it would stop reaching out to siblings that were no longer there.
::And of the others?::
Turning his head to look at the recharging form of Frenzy, Buzzsaw answered this time.
:: Is it not obvious? Let us not lament further on our sorrows. ::
So … Ratbat and Rumble were offline. Her head dipping slightly, the femme pressed back all of the emotions that wanted to wrestle to the surface and assault her spark and form. Now was not the time to mourn.
Pulling in a deep breath through her vents, she murmured back through the bond, :: I understand … I must report to Megatron. ::
:: And of Shockwave? :: asked Buzzsaw, a soft squawk escaping him.
Giving her sibling an emotionless glance, her optics reflecting in the darkness, she whispered, :: Let's not lament on any more of our sorrows. ::
The two bird-formers visibly cringed, pulling their wings roughly inward. They knew what she meant. Death would soon be theirs or a life of torment with an abusive cassette rack. And yet, despite all the pain, the two bird-formers held one warm thought … at least Frenzy wouldn't be separated from his twin much longer. The twin had been so angry about something, something he would not tell them. Yet, when Frenzy finally could no longer feel his brother, Rumble likely offline, he had been inconsolable. He had wept in a way he hadn't even for his own creator.
True, they had not found the other twin's body, but it was just a matter of time until Frenzy would join him they supposed.
It would soon be the end for all of them.
…
Across the base, another figure was suffering just as equally as the cassettes … though his pain was more of the physical kind. Thundercracker, despite his best efforts to seem strong, cried out when he finally heard something crack inside of his arm.
Megatron, letting go of the damaged arm, merely gave his soldier a thoughtful look as he eyed the other's chassis.
"Externals seem resilient, but let's see how sensitive your internals are," said the warlord darkly and yet strangely professional. "Open up, soldier."
Thundercracker could only swallow, wishing for the thousandth time since the war had started, that he had done as his creator had said … and joined the Autobots.
…
Ravage had decided, after learning that two of her siblings were already gone, not to walk through the halls. The crestfallen were easy targets. Instead, she wandered the vents to press away her grief. She needed to be strong and so the darkness the vents offered help steel her emotions. After, she needed to lie to Megatron.
The more she thought about it, the more she hated the thought of either Thundercracker or Blackout getting her siblings. Besides, it would be torture for Frenzy with his other half gone. Would he ever completely recover after losing a twin spark? She always thought that the remaining twin would follow after the first deactivated. And yet, he was still there, alive … and probably in complete agony.
An Autobot would make him live. She would not.
Shaking off thoughts that dared press at her emotions, the femme soon found herself in the vent that faced the command center of the ship. She stared at it for a moment, a deep part of her mind believing for a moment that Soundwave was right beyond that door, as always, listening and waiting and planning.
Needing to collect herself, she just sat there thinking of her Master's large overshadowing form and how he had been almost soundless when he walked. In the back of her spark, as that command deck's door slid open, she was sure that Soundwave was going to step out and tilt his head in the odd way he always did when curious.
Unfortunately, her spark's hope was quickly squashed when instead of her Master exiting the door, it was Thundercracker. He was currently holding his arm which looked twisted and bent and his vents were huffing. He seemed to be struggling just to stand. Megatron, not a second later, appeared behind the flier, wiping energon from his hands.
"Can you make it to the medical bay by yourself?" asked Megatron as if the flier's injuries were of minor consequence.
Nodding, Thundercracker murmured, "Yes, mi-lord. I'm sorry if I disappointed."
"Not at all. From Shockwave's report, you should be able to take the pain of a surgery if you are chosen to be the new Communication's Officer," said Megatron with a slightly wicked grin when Thundercracker went stiff. "Anyway, if you see Ravage on your way to the medical bay, send her my way. I am growing impatient."
The warlord then turned and returned to the inner confines of the deck, the door sliding closed behind the Seeker. Thundercracker, for his part, merely sighed and leaned against the wall. It seemed that it was only his will that was keeping him standing, his legs shaking as faint traces of energon dripped from his useless arm. The cat-former sat there on her haunches for a moment, dwelling on the figure before her.
She just stared at him and his silent pain and fury before she saw a flicker of Soundwave before her. If the seeker had a mask … he could be her Master. That was what Megatron probably saw as well.
Jumping down, her mind mingling in its decisions and the lies it could tell, she came before the injured seeker. The glare that he threw at her was all the answer she needed about Thundercracker's point of view on cassettes. Even his words were bitter and dark, showing just how much he had been influenced by Starscream.
"Come to gloat," glowered Thundercracker as he pushed himself off the wall, his face twisted in an expression of rage and agony. "I hate you little ticks. I want nothing to do with any of you. I just want to remain with my trine, my unit," his next words bit as if he had physically struck the cat-former, "They are my family. I want nothing to do with you or Megatron's plans."
Ravage, as still and as patient as ever even though her Master was no longer there to protect her with his reputation alone, merely remained sitting before the Seeker, her stubby tail still.
Her words were just as frigid though as she spoke over the communications link, =And you think I want to be separated from my family any less? I would have thought you learned this lesson already though, Seeker.=
His lip twitched, his optics dulling as he reluctantly asked, "What lesson?"
=That war takes everyone's family be them brothers, creations or lovers, = she said as he bore her fangs slightly, her next words harsh. =Why should you be allowed to suffer any less than I have in the last few orns? =
Thundercracker could only look surprised before he turned his gaze away, his words strained, "Just tell Megatron you want that pit-forsaken copter as your new rack and leave me be."
Ravage said nothing to that comment, she merely watched him limp away. Her mind wondering for the briefest of moments … could her siblings hold out for Thundercracker's reformat? He, at least, had a spark. In fact, he actually called those two hell spawn Seekers family, which left an opening for the thing cassettes needed the most: a family.
Tail twitching, she nodded to herself, her thoughts not as dark as they were a few klicks ago. She then headed to the door to manipulate the greatest fool of the entire war. At least that's how she always felt about Megatron and the Prime. They were two fools too blind to see that they were playing tag instead of chess and that tag has never been a game meant for only two. It would always be a stalemate ... Unless there entered another fool.
XXX
Paw07: Sorry if this seems a little short, but I liked the end with TC and Ravage and I felt it was a good chapter ending. Later.
Revisions July 2018
