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Story Arc 7
Chapter 12 – Minutes to Midnight part one
On the farthest edge of the universe lay the empty galaxy, Corona-Borealis. Memories of what the galaxy held had long passed into oblivion and only the ancient and dark world Tycho in the Caelus System was allowed glimpses into its once vibrant history. Torn apart quintillions of years ago by wars, Tycho and its few remaining inhabitants were the last hope this universe had against total annihilation. Its suns having reached super nova long before the rest of the universe had expanded, the once vibrant and glorious civilizations favored by the Creator of all life fell to invasions from the Children of Chaos.
Tycho cried out into the night skies for mercy. They prayed for their Creator to come and help them vanquish the marauding aliens. They whispered into the bleak ether for salvation as all they knew and loved fell to dust. And when they truly felt all hope was lost, an answer came from the Creator: You are my chosen few. You will be my Guides. I will show you the way so you may show my Children the way when I call for you. I will protect you from the oblivion that waits to claim this universe and in exchange you will help protect my Children from the oblivion that Chaos brings. When the final battle starts again, you will be my Sentinels; you will be the new Guardians of all that I give life...
From deep inside the caverns of Tycho that the Guides had created for protection, one was awoken from his eternal sleep by the Creator's call. A Light appeared and unfolded as the being within stepped out of its corona. "I, Kestral, have come as you called."
You are needed again, but now I ask that you save two of my Children.
"I live to serve and I serve to live."
Time is not on our side. I will give you what you returned with in order to help them. The Creator reached out to him and gave him the way.
"But they are so young."
Chaos had done this before and will do this again. The Twelve are waiting for you and the Three that Seek still gather the Artifacts. You will find all on Terra.
"I live to serve and I serve to live." Kestral glided across the cavern to a mostly empty hanger. The few ships that were moored there had heavy battle damage, but the Creator touched his ship and it shone like a new star as he boarded. He set a course to the Milky Way galaxy and opened the first tesseract between Tycho and Terra.
"Have y' eaten yet?" I looked back up at him and shook my head.
His smile took on a mischievous twist, "Let's grab somethin' from the lounge and head back t' my room?"
I smiled at him, "Okay."
"So how was the rest of y're day?"
"Well," Hopefully this would be a good segue for me to ask him what I did to upset him earlier. "I got to talk to the President of the United States, I was drafted to give the presentation to the UN Security Council tomorrow to inform them about the emergence of the Allspark. And then I get the unenviable position to explain that there is an intergalactic fight happening right here on Earth involving the Autobots and the Decepticons, and that the moment the Allspark reaches the bottom of the Pacific Ocean we will be fighting for the survival of Earth." I looked up at him as we neared the lounge. "Feel like trading places with me?"
Jazz laughed. "I would, but I've been conscripted t' join y' on the trip."
"That's a plus to the trip then." I smiled tiredly, "Who else is going besides you and Ratchet?"
"As far as I know - Optimus, Jetfire, Mirage and Sunstreaker."
"Sounds like a decent showing of the Autobots." The whole situation didn't seem half as daunting now and I felt much better knowing he would be there with me.
The lounge was filling with off-duty mechs and I could smell fresh pizza along with high-grade energon; it was the infamous Autobot movie night and I realized that I wouldn't get much of a chance inside to ask Jazz if I upset him earlier. I reached out and put my hand on his leg to stop him from entering the lounge just yet. "Jazz?"
He gave me a confused looked, "Somethin' wrong, Rach?"
"I, uh…" I looked at the floor quickly. "Did I do something to upset you earlier?"
He tilted his head to one side and moved out of the way for some mechs intent on getting good seats. "When?"
"Back in Communications…You stopped smiling at me."
He reached down and slipped his fingers under my chin, bringing my face up to look into his visor. "Y' didn't do anythin' wrong, Rach. I was jus' distracted and I didn't mean t' frown, especially at y'."
I smiled weakly up at him, "Really?"
"Yes, really. Now let's get somethin' t' eat before they empty the dispensers.
Unfortunately, getting something to eat and leaving wasn't that easy. We were roped into joining the monthly movie night madness and were forced into finding a seat. I sat up on Jazz's shoulder nibbling on pepperoni pizza while he sipped a cube of high-grade. At least from this perch I could whisper directly into his audios. I smiled wickedly at some of the ideas that came to mind with the prospect of whispering to him – like things to make him laugh at inappropriate moments. I couldn't get too risqué with my comments since Sideswipe sat down next to us after starting the movie and was instantly shoved into Jazz's side by Sunstreaker as he fought for room on the Autobot sized couch.
First movie up was the original 'War of the Worlds', which was one of my favorites. Technologically advanced Martians invading Earth intent on destroying everything had me smiling, but Jazz was frowning at it. I watched him for a few moments until he turned to look at me, his smile returning quickly. I pulled my wireless earpiece out of my pocket and leaned into whisper in his audio receptor. "What's wrong?"
"Nothin's wrong."
"Liar. What's wrong?"
"Nothin' at all." He gave me a sly look.
"Why won't you tell me?"
"There is nothin' wrong, Rach."
"Why were you frowning, then?"
"I was?"
I nodded before whispering back, "Yes."
"News t' me."
I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed. "You're impossible."
We watched the rest of the movie in silence besides the murmuring of the other mechs as they commented on silly things like the weapons used by the Martians and the complete disregard of aerodynamics in the shape and form of their ships. I was always amazed at the mechs' responses about Earth cinema and the lack of suspended disbelief they showed. A movie wasn't good if it wasn't able to wrap me up in its story, and the second movie always did just that.
"Oh crud." I murmured as Sideswipe held up the next DVD case.
"Y' okay, Rach?" Jazz gave me a concerned look.
I cuddled closer to him, "This movie always scares me."
By the end of the movie, I had proven to him and the Twins just how much 'Alien' scared me. My cringing and squeaks in fear earned a mischievous look for Sideswipe and I informed him in icy cold seriousness that if he tried anything, I would help Ratchet reformat him into the household appliance du jour. Jazz just gave him a look and said that Sideswipe wouldn't be that mean to me because of all the times I helped put him and Sunstreaker back together and intervened with Ratchet for their sakes. The red warrior nodded making me believe that he was going to be nice on his own accord… that was until I saw the look Jazz was giving him. I just shook my head and whispered into Jazz's audio receptor reminding him about wanting to go somewhere and talk.
We finally made it back to his quarters. No more shifts to keep us busy and away from each other. No more silly arguments over Seekers stuck in the med bay. No more emergency battles, or radiation signatures, or world leaders. We were tired, but not like last night when Jazz fell asleep with an energon cube in his hand.
"So what distracted you?" I asked him as he set me down and the door to his quarters shut. If I was going to get a semi-straight answer I needed to try and throw him off guard.
Jazz wandered over to his stereo and put a quiet instrumental piece on. "Hmm? When?"
I stood in the center of his room and watched him move about. "In Communications… you said you were distracted by something. What was it?"
He turned some to look at me, "Y're not goin' let this go, are y'?"
"Not until you tell me what it was."
He shook his head, "Prowl reminded me t' keep an optic on Communications."
I gave him a dubious look, "And during the movie?"
"I didn't even realize I was frownin'."
I sighed. Prowl over a comlink might make him frown some, but that doesn't account for his attitude when he was frowning.
"Hey now. It's not that big of a deal."
If it wasn't a big deal then why did I feel the cold behind his frown in Communications gnawing at my insides? "So what did you want to talk about?"
He sat down on the edge of his recharge berth and motioned for me to come to him. "About the last week."
I walked over and he picked me up and held me close, "You're upset because you and most of the Autobots don't think we should waste the time on repairing Skywarp. You think we should just hand him back to the Decepticons as he is and let them deal with him. And you're mad because he uses me to rile you up whenever he can. That about cover it?"
Jazz looked at me for a moment, so I continued. "Ratchet told me about what happened in the med bay and I remember hearing about that fight where Skywarp told you he killed me. I know he's your enemy and has been for a very long time. I know you're uncomfortable because I'm working in close quarters with him. But I also know that Ratchet won't stand by and watch another mech suffer or die, be it Autobot or Decepticon. And I agree with that belief."
"Rachel…"
"They left him back there to die. Megatron abandoned him there on the field and from what I've learned about this war is that Decepticons don't care about wounded mechs left on the battlefield. It they weren't strong enough to walk away from the battle then they don't deserve to be part of the Decepticon ranks. So if we sent him back to Megatron like he was, do you really think they would have helped him?" I shivered as I remembered what the dying Decepticons looked like and sounded like.
Jazz held me a little tighter, "I can't help but worry about y' bein' safe wit' him around."
"Ratchet, Wheeljack and Jetfire are in there with me so I'm rarely left alone in the med bay and I have a feeling that I'm fairly safe around him. I know that doesn't take away your worry, but there are reasons why I think he's harmless."
"Like?"
"I can't tell you everything that is going on because I promised him I wouldn't. I know he's very lonely and depressed without Starscream or Thundercracker. He's stopped shooting his mouth off to us and either stares at the wall or stares at us while we work."
"Y're right, it doesn't make me worry less."
"I don't know what else to say about that." I gave a halfhearted shrug and rested my head on Jazz's hood. The strong and soothing cadence of his spark could easily lull me to sleep. I started to trace lazy circles over his hood, letting my fingers idly dance over his chest. "You were really adorable last night passed out with the energon cube. Leaning against the wall and barely sitting on the edge."
He chuckled, "Yeah, I didn't think I was that tired."
"You know…" I looked up at him and spoke very softly, "I was just going to leave you a note saying I came by and found you asleep… but I stayed just in case you woke up," I turned to look away, letting my hair fall into my face. "Probably not the brightest of ideas, huh?"
His grin faded quickly, "Huh? Why do y' think that?"
"You might have squished me and you didn't say if you minded me staying here…"
"Rachel," His fingers were under my chin and he brought my face around to look at him. "I liked findin' y' here curled up wit' me."
There was the tiniest twitch from his lips as I pushed my hair behind my ear and I felt a slight system change from him, "Really?"
That disarming smile returned to his face, "Yes, really. Matter of fact, that was somethin' I was goin' t' ask y' about."
"Oh?"
"Y're welcome t' stay in here wit' me if y' want t', and I promise t' not squish y'."
I blushed and dropped my head, "You are aware that recharge berths aren't the most comfortable thing to sleep on for humans."
"I think I can find somethin' t' remedy that."
"So… are you asking me to stay tonight?"
"Yes."
I snuggled up across his chest, "Okay, but I have to be up early to get ready for tomorrow."
Torrents of salty ocean water cascaded over the entrance like a glistening aqua curtain as the flight deck opened, slowly revealing the clear blue skies of Earth from beneath its wet fingers. The Air Commander leapt into the air and transformed, gracefully cutting through the trickling strands of water that still dripped over the flight deck. He fed extra power into his thrusters and put as much distance between himself and Nemesis as he could; he needed to be free of that claustrophobic feeling that suddenly gripped him as he worked to seal up the wound in his wing. He had hoped being focused on his repairs would help him forget, for just a little while, the long buried feelings and raw anger that Megatron had brought to the surface. Instead, it made the purple titanium walls close in on him until he swore he could hear every noise in Nemesis, from the cadences of every mech's spark in recharge to the hum of the garbage compactor consoles on deck level 121.
Flying was one of the small pleasures he still had in life, but even with the cold air that rushed over his body as he pierced through the clear sky like a red arrow, the emptiness he felt inside killed any relief from his flight. He made a 90° turn and dove straight for the ocean below like a predatory bird diving for its prey. He threw himself into a rapid barrel roll, spinning almost uncontrollably as the cerulean ocean accelerated towards him. With only feet to spare, he pulled out of the dive and grazed the surface of the water; the wake of his engines sending plumed waves out behind him and a shower of water across his body.
Only two other beings in the universe shared his skill and grace in the skies... and they weren't around to appreciate his prowess in the dive. He soared off into the sky as the cold air turned the water that had sprayed over his frame into icy streaming droplets. Starscream was alone in the heavens where he, Thundercracker and Skywarp had reigned supreme. The silence during his flight pressed heavily on his audio receptors and spark, and the red Seeker's anger returned with a vengeance.
Other than pride and anger, the arrogant Air Commander would never let any emotions show through. Emotions were a sign of weakness. Emotions would preoccupy your mind and would get you killed. Feelings for another being, be it love or friendship, would most certainly be used against you. Just like it had been on the day the Academies were destroyed. There were many, many times when mechs thought they could blackmail him or the others because of their friendship… it would only take a handful of meetings in empty hallways and Skywarp's twisted pranks to impress upon the mech that messing with them was a dangerous and often deadly path.
He continued to roll through the skies, pushing his body to its limits as he fought with his emotions. He felt outraged, furious, mad, angry, infuriated, bitter and at the very bottom of the jumbled emotions was a feeling he tried to push away. Sadness. It was a logical response… for anyone else but him. Yet, the more he pushed at it, the more it seeped into his processors. It was worse than any physical pain he ever experienced. He tried to deny its existence, but it only grew worse. He screamed into the heavens until his vocalizer shorted, but it didn't relieve any of the pain he felt inside. The very core of his spark was in agony.
Starscream banked to the left and headed towards land and the Space Bridge. He needed it operational so he could return to Cybertron and give Skywarp a proper burial. He had gathered a few things from their rooms to set up a memorial for his dead best friend: a handful of holopictures of them as younglings to when they received their medals of achievement from the Iacon Academies, his awards for breaking every record in the Fighters Academy, and his grease gun. The three of them had kept the guns as mementos from when they first met each other, and it seemed fitting that Skywarp should pass on to Primus with the small gun by his side. And although he did not have the body of his best friend to place in the grotto, he had his wing safely tucked away in his subspace. The red Seeker had taken time to carefully clean the wing, each brush of the polishing cloth bringing back memories of when the three of them got their first alternate forms. More memories flooded to the surface of his processors as he removed the dirt from the battlefield off the black and purple wing, and more vows that he would make Megatron pay.
Within minutes he was transforming and landing in front of the Space Bridge and the lone guard watching it. There were a series of scorch marks across the entrance and the main control panel had taken a hit. He headed straight to the panel and pried it open, scowling as he picked through the mess of melted wires and chips. It was going to take awhile to repair the damage, but it would be operational without a trip back to Nemesis for supplies.
The Cyclonus' optics nearly exploded from his faceplate as the Air Commander landed and walked towards the Space Bridge. He drew himself up to his full height and saluted briskly, ignoring the pain from the blast wounds in his back and torn rotors. It wasn't an everyday occurrence for the Decepticon Air Commander to appear. "All hail Megatron!"
Starscream turned and gave the guard a cold glare. Slag Megatron. He wanted to tell the guard just where he could stick his hail but decided against it. He needed to focus on fixing this mess and getting back to Cybertron, not tearing one of Megatron's faithful supporters to pieces. The waved off the groundpounder with one hand and turned back to the open panel in hopes the cannon fodder would leave him alone to work…Wait. This was a flier. Why was there a flier out here guarding the Space Bridge?
The Seeker turned around and looked at the still saluting flier, "Why are you out here?"
Oh, Primus! The Air Commander walk talking to him! "I'm here to guard the Space Bridge, sir!"
Starscream gave Cyclonus a level look, "I can see that. Who ordered you to stand guard?"
"Lord Megatron, sir!"
"Fliers are not supposed to be on ground duty." He pulled out a duty roster and pulled the first two groundpounders on the list to come relieve the flier. "As soon as the next guards show up you are to return to base and get repaired."
Cyclonus looked the battered Air Commander over; it looked like the Seeker needed the repairs more than he did. "But, sir, I don't mind ground duty. I'm doing my part for the greater good of the Decepticons."
One optic ridge rose to peer at the flier as he deadpanned, "The greater good of the Decepticons."
"Yes, sir!"
He sent the order back to Nemesis and stowed the duty roster. "Why?"
"Sir?"
"Why fight for the Decepticons and not the Autobots?"
"We must fight the accursed Autobots –"
Starscream glared at Cyclonus, "That's not what I asked. Why do you fight for the Decepticons? What is in for you?"
The young flier tilted his head to one side as he thought about the answer, "Well, sir, I'm a flier class and the elite fliers are in the…"
"So you joined the Decepticons to become an elite flier?" Starscream rubbed his forehead with his fingers, "You don't become an elite flier just by joining the Decepticons. It takes training and skill and the will to succeed at any cost. You work at it until you're too tired to fly, and then you push yourself further. When your energy levels are setting off alarms, you keep going. Becoming one of the elite is about brutal work and the unrelenting desire to be the best." He turned away from the flier and went to work on the open panel, "It's not like joining a club and they just give you the title of elite."
"But isn't that why everyone joins? To become one of Megatron's elite and destroy the Autobot resistance?"
Starscream didn't answer him as he worked on replacing the melted wiring.
"Sir?"
He looked up into the blue skies above as he tried to summon patience, "Yes?"
"Were you an elite flier before you joined?"
"Yes."
"Why did you join the Decepticons?"
He shuttered his optics, "It is a long story."
"Did you join with Lieutenant Commander's Thundercracker and Skywarp?" There was no hope for shutting the mech up now.
"Yes."
Cyclonus looked at the damaged Space Bridge, "He's been gone for over an Earth month. Is he coming back soon?"
Starscream grabbed a handful of the destroyed wires and yanked them forcefully from the console. Why wouldn't this guy shut the frak up?
The helicopter turned to face the Air Commander, "Does that mean the rumors about you and the Lieutenant Commanders being friends is true, sir? I've seen your trine in the skies leaving for battles against the Autobots. You're amazing. I guess that's why I want to be an elite so much… to be like you. I don't have a trine and even if I were in one, it wouldn't be as close as yours. I mean, I joined the Decepticons by myself; I didn't have close friends back on Cybertron to join with me, which I guess is good thing since the war claims so many people. Most of the people I knew back home died and sometimes I feel lonely knowing that I don't have a family to go back to. You're lucky that you still have your friends and aren't alone. But I think it would be very hard for you if you lost them, wouldn't it? Because then you would have to train a new guy to work in your trine…"
He tried to ignore the helicopter. I don't have a family to go back to. Thundercracker and Skywarp were his family. You're lucky that you still have your friends and aren't alone. But he was alone. Skywarp was gone - that's why he was here fixing the Space Bridge so he could take him home for burial. And who knew where Thundercracker had disappeared to on Cybertron. He wouldn't have deserted them, so there had to be a logical reason why TC hadn't been able to contact him. He could be hurt, or captured by the Autobot resistance, or maybe he already found out the truth behind that day and had tried to do something about it.
He would find the answers once he went back to Cybertron, but there were still some questions that could only be answered on Earth. He knew for certain one side of the story about that day, and if Megatron was telling the truth – which there was a possibility that he was just trying to rile him enough to attack the warlord – he knew that side of the story, but there was a third side that would elude him unless he asked the right person. Prime would tell him the truth about that day, he had no doubt in his mind that the Autobot leader would not lie to him about something that was such a black mark on Cybertronian history. He could take a detour before going home and ask about that day...but would the Autobots tell him if the resistance had captured Thundercracker?
And yet he was still reeling from what Megatron had told him. It was almost as if the truth was too big of a burden for him to carry alone; that he needed to tell someone about it before he found Thundercracker. Someone he could explain it to first, to prepare him before he told his best friend. Primus, he wished Skywarp was here with him! The black and purple Seeker would be furious too- who wouldn't be? But he would also be there to help search and tell Thundercracker what really happened.
But Skywarp was dead, and he was alone. He would be alone in searching for Thundercracker. He would never admit it out loud and he was trying to squash the thought as it rose in his mind… he was lost without them.
And without them there was no one else in the entire universe that he had ever been remotely close to and could call a friend…
… Except.
He finished the repairs quickly and looked at the over talkative mech who still hadn't shut up. "The next guard shift will be here in under a jour and you are to report immediately back to Nemesis-?" He motioned with his hand for the mech to respond to him.
The mech grinned in an almost maddeningly insane way. "Cyclonus, sir!" The Air Commander wanted to know his name!
"Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
Starscream ran a few steps before leaping into the air and taking off. He would get some of his questions answered before he returned to Cybertron. As the Air Commander and Second in Command of the Decepticons rose into the blue skies and plotted a course to the north to see the last mech he had any connection to, he felt some relief in his spark.
And though he would never admit it, not even to Thundercracker, he wasn't sure if he was willing to send the annoying black and purple Seeker that he had called his best friend for millions of years back to Primus… yet.
Soundwave hovered over the spot where Nemesis' flight deck would raise from the ocean depths and sent his request again. Why wasn't he receiving a response?
The water below him started to roil and the spire of Nemesis' flight deck rose slowly. He floated down to the entrance of the deck and was surprised to be greeted with armed mechs with their weapons trained on him. "Explain situation."
An unknown soldier thrust his weapon at him, "Ask Megatron about your situation,traitor. Now move."
His visor flashed with an evil glint and he reached out to the mind of the mech telepathically, and started to pull his psyche apart microchip by microchip. The mech howled in pain and crumpled to the floor. His mechanical laugh made a few of the mechs around him back off, but some were undeterred. "We are to escort you to Megatron, Soundwave. It would be wise to follow us to him instead of forcing one of us to report that you are responding with hostility."
He looked at the mech before giving him a slight nod, "Suggestion acceptable."
Surrounded by a cadre of troops, he was taken to the control room where Megatron was waiting. There was scorch marks on the floor and a drying trail of energon that led back out the door of the room. The fusion cannon was raised and pointed at his chest the moment his escort cleared. "You dare to return, traitor?"
Soundwave squared his shoulders and was glad his masks covered his face to hide his confusion. "I am no traitor."
"Oh?" Megatron's optics narrowed at the dark blue mech. "And cavorting with those back-stabbing Constructicons does not label you as a traitor?"
Soundwave stood stock still as he processed the information. How were the Constructicons traitors? He just accompanied Hook to Cybertron for supplies under Megatron's orders. Did they steal the supplies and run off? Asking Megatron to explain what he meant was never a wise decision. "Constructicon Hook failed to return with supplies?"
The anger radiating off of Megatron made the lowly grunt escort back away from Soundwave. "No. He didn't return for any supplies!"
Now he was really confused, "Mission to gather supplies was a ruse?"
The fusion cannon hummed to life, "Do not play innocent with me!"
Soundwave pulled the supplies list data pad from his subspace and read the requisition out loud to Megatron, "As per order of Decepticon Lord Megatron."
The warlord stalked over to him and grabbed the data pad from his hands. "I did not order a supply mission from you. You abandoned the Decepticons over a quartex ago with the Constructicons!"
"Inconsistent with memory banks. I returned with you to Nemesis in need of repairs. Supplies were needed to repair forces. Hook stated I was malfunctioning-" It suddenly dawned on him that Hook doctored his memories. "Request permission for medic to analyze processors."
"Oh, I'll allow a medic access to your processors," Megatron's face split into a malicious smirk. "Activate your symbiotes Rumble and Frenzy."
"As you command, Lord Megatron." His chest plate slid open and the two smaller mechs came online and landed on the floor in front of Megatron and intoned in unison. "All hail Lord Megatron!"
The fusion cannon was humming in Rumble's face immediately, "Frenzy, tell me of the events for the past quartex or I will melt your twin into slag to fill the cracks in the floors on level 124!"
The little mech's optic band grew wide in fear, "I…uh..."
"NOW or I'll blast him into microparticles!"
"Uh, Soundwave was fighting the horde when that Autobot attacked us. And then we came back here for repairs and then were offline for awhile… and then Hook said Soundwave was malfunctioning again and some slag about internal repairs and how he was going to rat him out to you. And then we went to Cybertron for supplies, and Shockwave couldn't contact you but he ticked off Hook good by making him drag the supplies back through the Space Bridge in these carts. And then…" The little mech's face screwed up as he thought about it. "We came online a few jours ago alone, Soundwave guessed Hook finally did decide to leave him and come back here, and now we're here."
The cannon was shoved into Frenzy's face and the warlord glared at Rumble, "Is that true? Think carefully before you answer because if I find out either of you were lying I will destroy Soundwave slowly and take great enjoyment in watching you two suffer as your host bleeds to death."
"Y-yes, Lord Megatron. It's true! Except there was a show down between Hook and Shockwave and old 'Shocky put him in his place, but that's the only times were we online!"
The fusion cannon was lowered and Megatron looked between all three mechs, "Very well. I will accept that your story is true…for now."
He pointed to one of the grunt soldiers that escorted Soundwave. "You! Call for three medics to come here at once." He turned back to Soundwave. "I want the medics to run a diagnostic while they are working on you." Megatron's malicious smirk spread further across his faceplate. "That program you designed to purge the recent memories of Autobot prisoners? I think it's time we tested it. Just to make sure that Hook hasn't added any programming that would…compromise Nemesis' security. You can understand the reasoning behind this, can't you, Soundwave?"
He stood straighter even as he felt his symbiotes fear of what the situation entailed. "I understand, Lord Megatron."
The three medics flittered nervously back and forth between Soundwave and the main computer console as they ran the purging program through his memory banks. Megatron stood watching like a turbo-hawk over them and smirking with each jarring motion that ran through Soundwave's body as the program wormed its was through his processors. Unfortunately, everything the idiot Communication officer and his symbiotes had told him was proving to be true.
"Lord Megatron, the program is complete. The only memories that have been altered were the ones about him returning to Nemesis. There is no evidence of any further tampering." The medic looked up at the imposing Decepticon leader and tried to keep his voice from quivering. "Other than some minor repairs, he is fit for full duty." Blood red optics turned to glare at the impertinent medic. "Only- only if you think so, Lord Megatron. I just – I'm just, uh, if you want him fit, uh, he just needs some small repairs, and yes, he's… that is if you wish so, my lord." The medic cowered under the warlord's stare.
"Unhook him from the computer."
"R- right away, Lord Megatron!" The three medics never worked that fast in their entire existence.
The Decepticon leader watched them impatiently, but held his temper. There were other more important things that needed his attention now besides some whimpering medics. "Soundwave."
The dark blue mech stood from the chair he had been sitting on for the examination with a slight wobble, "Yes, Lord Megatron?"
"Activate Laserbeak. I have a mission for him…"
Hook smirked as he watched the lowly Decepticon medics fail to find the control devices or any of the programming that he had placed inside the dark blue mech. His face split in two with a wide malicious grin when Megatron welcomed the 'clean' Soundwave back into the Decepticon fold. His plan for an oblivious spy was working perfectly. He gave Scrapper a knowing look, "I told you it would work."
The Constructicon nodded to the engineer, "It's a shame that your work was used on such an incompetent fool like Megatron."
"With perfection as my muse, my work is never wasted."
"What about the symbiotes? Will we have access to them?" Scrapper glanced at Hook. "We do not need Laserbeak or Ravage giving intelligence about our whereabouts to Megatron."
"Just as Soundwave cannot use his telepathy on us, the symbiotes will not see us as any threat and ignore us completely." The green and purple engineer smiled smugly. "Now shall we repair our little Autobot toy and send him back as well?"
"Are you sure you can pull the steel wool over that Autobot medic's optics? He is not like those poor excuses Megatron has for medics. He is still the best doctor Cybertron has seen in quite some time." Scrapper crossed his arms over his chest plate.
"Are you doubting my skills, again?"
The green and purple bulldozer frowned, "I am not. I am just pointing out that you are up against a mech who would rival your skills."
"I will prove to you that my skills are superior even to his." The two walked over to where the other Constructicons were toying around with their Autobot captive.
"I look forward to seeing that."
"I know this is very last minute, but there has been a change of plans, Rachel." The Secretary of Defense looked weary from his end of the videolink. "There are already delegates on board the USS Ronald Reagan, so the President has asked that you arrive via a military jet instead of having Jetfire drop you off. I hope this doesn't upset your schedule too much, but unfortunately this is how things end up with Summits and emergency Council meetings. There is a flight waiting for you at the New Portland Airport to take you directly to the carrier."
"I'm basically ready, Wes. I've got the translators finished and it will take just a few minutes to check over my notes to verify I have everything I need. Are you at New Portland?"
"No, I'm in San Francisco waiting for the plane to refuel. I should be on board when you arrive, though."
"Okay. Is there anything I need to tell Optimus about the changes? It won't take Jetfire long to make it to the ship when the President calls, but is there a specific time I should tell them to be ready?"
"Not that I'm aware of, Rachel. But as I said earlier, these things are prone to change with a moments notice."
"I'll tell them to be on their toes for the call then."
"Sounds good, I'll see you in a few hours, Rachel. And don't worry, I know you'll do fine."
"Thanks, Wes. See you in a bit." The videolink ended and I ran over my notes on wireless Teletraan 1 and double-checked all of the information and graphs I had downloaded to use. "Crud, I should have asked about the audio-video equipment."
"Is there a problem, Rachel?" Jetfire walked into the med bay amid my rushing about.
"There has been a change of plans, Jetfire. They need me to travel on a military jet because there are delegates already on board the ship." I closed the wireless and set it on top of the box that held the translators. "Okay, presentation, translators, Teletraan… now me." I looked up at the gentle scientist. "Should I wear my black skirt and blouse or my navy pantsuit?"
Confusion fluttered over his faceplate at my question, "I'm not sure I understand what you are asking."
I laughed as I walked over to him and patted his leg, "Don't worry about it, Jetfire. I'll see you in a few hours."
"Good luck, Rachel."
I went back to my room and got changed: black skirt, white blouse and black blazer with my hair pulled back at the nape of my neck. Satisfied that I looked professional for the presentation, I slipped on the wireless earpiece and contacted Optimus Prime with the changes to he schedule.
"All right, Rachel. Good luck with the presentation."
"Thanks, Optimus. I'll see you and the others in a bit!"
Jazz met me by the entrance to the Ark, "Nervous?"
"A little. I'm more worried about the flight in the jet. I didn't do very well last time I flew in a jet."
He laughed as he transformed and I slid into his black leather interior. "At least this jet won't give y' any attitude."
"True. Maybe it was the snarky jet that made me sick and not the flight."
"Will y' do somethin' for me, Rach?"
"Anything."
"Keep a comlink open t' the Ark, or at least me? If somethin' happens t' the plane, I want t' be able t' find y' quickly."
"I will, but that just made me more nervous."
We talked the rest of the way to New Portland about what we thought the reactions of the delegates would be to the Autobots and how well they would handle –or believe- the information about the Allspark. But our trip ended too quickly, and I felt even more nervous as Jazz parked in a nearby lot. "This is going to sound silly, but I'm going to miss you even though we'll see each other in a few hours."
"I'll miss y' t', Rach. And y'll be fine on the flight. Jus' remember what Jets said about stoppin' the motion sickness. Deep calmin' breaths and relaxin' thoughts."
I kissed his steering wheel and climbed out of his drivers seat with my wireless Teletraan 1 and the box of the 'Cyber Babelfish'. I looked over at the drop off lanes for the guard who was supposed to pick me up and take me to my own personal ride in a military jet. "I wish I was going with you and Jetfire."
"I know, but y'll be fine."
I placed a lingering kiss on his roof, "I love you, Jazz. See you in a few hours."
"Love y' t', Rachel. Knock 'em dead."
The last time I was in an F-15 fighter was an experience I will never forget. This time, I was strapped in and wore a helmet. There was no golden glass shell closing in on me. No red lights flashing on the console making snarky comments. I shivered in the seat and started the deep breathing exercises that Jetfire said would stop the motion sickness the moment the jet started to move. This was not a good sign.
The pilot was quiet, only speaking when he talked to I assumed the flight tower, leaving me in my own little corner of panic inside the jet.
"Y' okay, Rach?"
I was so glad that I wore the earpiece as I whispered in Cybertronian to my savior in the ether, "No. Clouds are moving too fast and I feel like I left most of my internal organs back on the tarmac."
"I'm trackin' y' on Teletraan 1, y're about an hour away from the ship."
"This would have taken Jetfire minutes."
"I know, Rach. But y're doin' fine. Jus' keep breathin' and remember that I'll be seein' y' soon."
"I'm trying."
The pilot's voice came over the headphones in the helmet, "Did you say something, Dr. Milne?"
"Just going over my presentation in my head."
"Love y', Rach."
"Love you too, Jazz."
We flew past the ship once and the pilot's voice came over the headphones again, "This is going to get bumpy, Dr. Milne."
It wasn't 'bumpy'. It was frightening. The jet tipped back as it approached the flight deck; and the nano-klik the landing gear touched down with a bounce, the jet's tailhook caught the arrestor wires and came to a sudden stop. I wasn't prepared for such a rapid deceleration and it felt like my stomach was trying to exit through my mouth. There was a clunk sound to my right as a tech appeared and opened the canopy. I couldn't get out of the jet fast enough even with his help, and the moment my feet touched the deck so did my breakfast.
"Are you all right, ma'am?"
I gave the voice a shaky nod as I pulled a tissue from my pocket and wiped my mouth. "Sorry," I coughed realizing that one of these poor techs would have to clean up after me. "I don't do well on planes."
There were a few laughs, "You get used to the landings quickly."
"I don't want to get used to that."
My wireless Teletraan 1 and the box carrying the 'Cyber Babelfish' were retrieved from the jet and I was escorted across the flight deck to a man who I assumed was the captain and a group of his officers. "Glad you could make it, Dr. Milne. I'm First Officer Michael Crawford and I'd like to welcome you to the U.S.S Ronald Reagan."
I took his proffered hand with my unsteady one and gave him a weak handshake. "Very nice to meet you. I'm sorry about back there. I'm not used to flying."
We entered the ship and traveled down a few decks while I explained to the officer what I would need for my presentation, mostly monitor screens and a computer so I could hook up the wireless Teletraan. We stopped on the fourth deck and I was led into a completely empty light gray room that was not set up for any type of presentation. This wasn't right. The queasy feeling left quickly as the fingers of cold panic gripped my stomach. I pulled some of my hair that had fallen free of the clip over my earpiece as I tapped the volume and turned to face the Officer. "Where's Secretary Granger?"
Some of the men who had followed us from the flight deck filtered into the room. I stiffened uncomfortably as one approached me and took the wireless Teletraan 1 and my purse. I glanced at the wireless as the man walked away, "What is going on?"
"Dr. Milne, you have been declared an enemy of the state to the United States, and by executive order, under the United States Code Title 18, Chapter 115 of treason, I hereby place you under arrest until we reach port and can transfer you to the proper authorities."
My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to speak, but shut it quickly. My mind raced at the speed of light as the man holding my wireless Teletraan 1 stood next to the officer charging me. I tried to not glare or attract attention to the wireless. They obviously knew the laptop was important, but I needed to keep a calm face about the situation. Not that they would be able to access anything on it; it would take a Decepticon some serious work to crack the dialect it used – only two other beings in the entire universe could understand what it was - but I could not let them take it. I had to destroy it.
When I worked at Kirtland National Labs we had monthly training meetings to drill into us the importance of keeping your mouth shut. In case of a hostage situation, kidnapping, or taken as a prisoner of war, your answer toeverything was your name, rank, service number, and date of birth. If they interrogate you, you state your name, rank, service number, and date of birth. If they ask you if you're thirsty? Name, rank, service number, and date of birth. Smalltalk? The same. You said and did nothing but that. Over and over again.
I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. "Doctor Rachel Elizabeth Milne, Kirtland – 2757, February 19, 1983, clickik-click-whirl-ziiip."
I reached up and quickly pulled the earpiece free as it started to crackle and smoke and there was a loud pop from across the room as the wireless Teletraan 1's emergency protocol initiated, frying the hard drives and melting the circuit board.
I heard the earpiece hit the floor and then there was pain and darkness.
A/N: Like it? Hate it? Please tell me what you think?
