I want to thank everyone for taking the time to review!
Transformers Terminology: spark = heart, neural network/processor = brain/mind, frame/framework = body, helm = head, faceplates = face, optic = eye, ridge =eyebrow, receptor = ear, denta = teeth, glossa = tongue, strut = shoulder, chassis = chest, tank(s) = stomach, servo = hand, digit = finger, pede = foot, stasis = sleep, recharge = rest, sparkling = infant/toddler, youngling = child, mechling/femling = teenager, mech = adult male, femme = adult female, sire = father, carrier = mother, nano-klick = second, klick = minute, breem = hour, sol = day, cycle = week, megacycle = month, vorn = year
Chapter 12: T.M.I.
After escaping MECH, J-01, as he had nothing else to call himself, soon got over the initial thrill of his newfound freedom and searched for a safe place to take refuge in. The terrain surround him was both alien and familiar. Sometimes he was on a dirt road, other times he drove through fields, dashed through forests, the environment slowly changing the further he got. After traveling hundreds of miles, the vegetation diminishing as the ground became rockier, he settled for a cave hidden in a craggy cliffside over a trench-like ravine.
He'd been hesitant to enter at first; there'd been something buried in the back of his mi-processor that warned him about the seemingly harmless hole. He dismissed the feeling, but not before scanning the cave just in case.
Now that he had put great distance between himself and MECH, J-01 tucked himself into the back of the cave and began the arduous task of restoring his memory-es files. First, he searched through his systems to make sure MECH hadn't left any surprises. He found a freshly made protocol that would instantly put him into sl-stasis, should his memory-es files fluctuate. The directive was rather primitive though and he likely could've overrode it had he been taken unawares. As it was, he easily deleted the protocol from his systems with a derisive scoff. J-01 also discovered a distress signal that was thankfully not functional at the moment. He destroyed the signal with a heavy sense of vindictiveness.
MECH would not find him so easily.
Once that task was done, he moved onto decrypting his backup server stored in his br-neural network. After spending several hours of adjusting algorithms and bypassing codes, he had unlimited access to his missing memory-es files. The victory was a somewhat hollow one, seeing as he still had to assimilate the files into his core memory banks, a process that would take several days. From a brief scan, J-01 realized that he had a lot of data, meaning he was much older than he'd originally thought. For some reason, he'd just felt like he was young. Brushing the misconception aside, he sat back against the cavern wall and offlined his ey-optics, focusing his attentions on the first set of memories that were being integrated into his mi-processor.
ANALYZING NEURAL NETWORK... PROCESSING DATA... MEMORY FILES DOWNLOAD AT 0%...
He awoke from inside a pod, the latch opening slowly as his systems turned on for the first time. A purple and black mech stood in front of him, taller by some few feet, with a large blaster-model arm and a singular red optic that acted as his faceplates.
"Activation completed; what is your designation and function, soldier?" The larger mech asked in a monotonic voice. He delayed in answering for a few nano-klicks as his optics darted towards the symbol exposed on the mechs chassis, recognizing it as the mark of the Decepticons, his faction.
"Designation: 5T-3V3. Model Type: Vehicon - Ground Mode; Personality Drone. Class: First Rank Soldier." He stated, the information already integrated in his processor. "Function: To serve Lord Megatron and the Decepticon cause."
"Acceptable response. I am your superior and creator, Shockwave. Join your regiment and head to the arena for basic training." With that Shockwave moved on to the next pod, awakening another Vehicon and repeating the process. 5T-3V3 did as he was ordered and left the chamber he'd awoken in, easily finding the squadron he was ordered to join before heading towards the direction of the arena.
"Hey there, I'm D4-V1D, what's your name?" The Vehicon in front of 5T-3V3 asked once he fell in line. He didn't answer his fellow soldier, but rather continued to stare ahead of him, as was expected of him. "Aww scrap, not another Basic Drone. Am I the only one in this unit with a personality chip?" D4-V1D asked out loud. His voice was a little higher than 5T-3V3, and thus was somewhat grating to listen to.
"I have a personality chip; I simply didn't care to answer your question." He replied looking over at the Vehicon, who had slowed down in order to walk beside him. If he'd had a mouth, 5T-3V3 would've frowned disapprovingly at the mech for breaking ranks so nonchalantly.
"Really? That's great! Well, not you ignoring my question, that was rude. I meant that it's great that there's another Personality Drone. We're a dying breed my friend. I think you and I are the only PD's in this batch." D4-V1D said while shaking his helm.
"How fortunate for me to have you as company." He responded. D4-V1D heard him, he hadn't bothered to lower his volume, and the Vehicon merely laughed in response. He resisted the urge to growl in annoyance before grudgingly deciding that there were worse PDs he could've been stuck with. An fool should be simple enough to handle. "My designation is 5T-3V3."
"Well 5T-3V3, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." He scoffed at the statement. Any sort of comradery between them was highly unlikely.
The base was quiet. It usually was nowadays.
The Autobots had returned three days ago from there mission to rescue Jack, but they'd come back empty handed. Miko choose to take that as a positive. If he wasn't with them, then Jack was with MECH, and they obviously wanted him for something since he was still alive. The fifteen-year-old frowned at that last part, hating how the possibility of Jack dying was very real. She knew that things were dangerous, had known that since the day she'd followed Bulkhead into the Groundbridge for the first time and stormed the Cons' warship.
This wasn't something she'd been prepared for though.
She'd thought that the Decepticons were the only thing she had to worry about, and even then, she knew Bulkhead would never let anything bad happen to her. Sure there had been a couple of closecalls in the past, but that was all part of the adventure. It wouldn't be as much fun without the threat of danger.
This whole thing with Jack and MECH wasn't like when the Bots were taking down a squadron of Vehicons. This was something worse. Maybe it was because there'd been no real fight to begin with? Instead, they'd found out that MECH, the sneaky rats they were, had taken Jack without them realizing it, holding him hostage for days. Just the thought of it left a churning feeling in Miko's stomach. Like that time she drank half a jar of pickle juice because of a dare.
In short, she wasn't having fun anymore.
Her thoughts kept turning back to Jack and about what MECH could be doing to him. And it made her anxious, worried, and she hated feeling this way. As much as she said otherwise to Raf, Miko wasn't naïve enough to think that her friend was just being kept in a room, bored, but healthy and safe. She'd seen enough TV to know better. Her overactive imagination painted out the worst scenarios, her mind always creating an image bordering on what someone would find in those crime movies where the killer is playing with their victim. It certainly hadn't helped when she'd looked up practices of torture and interrogation that people still used.
With these nagging thoughts always hanging in the back of her mind, Miko wondered how the Bots were handling the situation. She considered herself an upbeat person; she didn't let the bad things keep her down. But everything just suddenly seemed too heavy and sometimes she felt suffocated from the concerns of what could be happening to her friend. She tried to seem unaffected, to go about her days as usual, rocking out to music, sleeping in class, and eager to see the Autobots in action. That last part was a lot harder to pull off seeing as the Bots had apparently hit their all-time low with Jack being gone.
Arcee didn't talk at all anymore. In fact she'd hardly been around base after they found out MECH had Jack, preferring to look for him with every spare moment she had. Bulkhead did what Miko did, pretended that things were fine, that they'd find Jack soon, and acted like nothing had changed. Miko could see that his heart wasn't really in it though. Bumblebee, when he wasn't hovering over Raf, had stayed in his room almost the whole time. Ratchet had been grouchier than ever, snapping at them and the Bots over his tools, that shouldn't be touched, grumbling under his breath, and just generally glaring at everyone. Optimus seemed pretty much the same though, stoic and a little distant.
Then the other day happened, they found out where Jack was and the Autobots stormed the enemy base. Her friend coming back with them was a given.
He didn't come back though.
Miko sat on the couch, her legs pulled up to her chest, eyes focusing on the spot where Jack usually sat in-between her and Raf.
The failed rescue mission had a surprisingly positive effect on Arcee. Her constant anger had been replaced with fiery determination, her recent mood making a complete turnaround. She talked to the others, searched the computer for any possible sign of MECH, and spent her mornings searching the areas surrounding MECH's latest abandoned base.
Arcee's sudden attitude shift affected Bumblebee, who was more often than not helping Arcee when he wasn't hanging out with Raf. Miko had been worried about the younger boy at first, he'd taken Jack's capture really hard and Bumblebee's previous depression hadn't helped. Now though, since Bee was strengthened by Arcee's new resolve, the scout had been able to cheer Raf up considerably. Sure the kid still had bouts of sadness from time to time, but Bee always managed to distract Raf long before the pre-teen could reduce himself to tears due to worry.
Arcee and Bumblebee were the only ones who changed for the better.
Ratchet had retreated to his lab, silent and grim; his usual mutters and grumbles now missing. He didn't even yell at Bumblebee when the yellow Bot had accidentally broken one of his tools! Miko didn't like it. Doc-bot wasn't Doc-bot if he wasn't chewing somebody out. She figured that Ratchet had just been so sure that they would find Jack, that losing him again must have been a bitter pill for Ratchet to swallow.
Bulkhead was also worse. He seemed angrier to Miko. He pounded on a block of metal that was kept in the Autobot's training room for almost three hours yesterday, leaving it as a pitiful pile of crunched metal. Miko had asked about what happened at MECH's base, figuring he'd give her the play-by-play just like he'd done a dozen times before. Instead, Bulkhead had actually growled at her, sternly telling her never to ask him that question again. A little hurt by his attitude, she'd wisely kept her mouth shut for the rest of the night. He'd apologized when he'd dropped her off at her host parent's house and she'd easily forgiven him after recognizing the regret his tone.
It was Optimus who worried Miko the most though. She hadn't seen the Boss-bot since he arrived at base three days ago in his truck form. She'd instantly pummeled him with questions, which he didn't answer, and drove down the hallway, not even bothering to change back to normal. When she'd asked Raf's thoughts about it, the boy genius guessed that maybe Optimus didn't want them to see his face. It made Miko wonder, had Optimus been crying? Could Autobots cry?
As she puzzled over that concept, she came to the realization that Jack must mean a heck of a lot more to Optimus than she'd first thought.
"Not watching the monster truck rally, Miko? I thought there was a special show on today?" Bulkhead said as he entered the main room, disrupting Miko's musings. She looked towards her best friend and smiled a little.
"Nah, I'm not really in the mood." She answered and he frowned in response, picking up on her somber mood.
"I don't see where the fascination is in watching innocent vehicles battle each other for human entertainment." Ratchet groused from his spot in front of the main terminal before shuddering slightly. "It sounds like a blood sport."
"Exactly!" Miko cheered and Bulkhead grinned in agreement.
"Besides, shouldn't you be out helping Optimus in the field, Bulkhead?" The medic continued, his optics firmly locked on the computer screen. Optimus' decision of not telling the others about Jack's true condition hung between them, making it difficult for either Autobot to meet the other's gaze. There was a silent agreement between them to not bring it up until the Prime spoke with the others.
"Aw, he doesn't need my help to search for some ancient educational thingamabob." Ratchet shook his helm at his teammate's ignorance.
"The thingamabob, to which you refer, happens to be a Cybertronian Data Cylinder." He corrected before transmitting the information onto the TV in front of Miko for visual aide and ignored the girl's shout of protest. "And there's no telling what vast intelligence it may hold. During the Golden Age, dozens of these cylinders were created, each containing the sum total of Cybertronian knowledge on any given subject; stellar cartography, medicine, ancient mythology. War broke out and the cylinders were hidden throughout the galaxies to keep them as far as possible from Decepticon reach. Detecting one's signal here, on Earth, is the opportunity of a–"
"Argh, T.M.I. dude." Miko groaned as she collapsed further into the couch.
"Yeah, Ratchet, we didn't ask for a history lesson." Bulkhead replied and Ratchet huffed.
"Yes, well, Jack would've–" He began before immediately cutting himself off and pointedly looked away from pair. Jack wasn't alive anymore and would never get know such things now. Ratchet bowed his helm, realizing that he would never again get to share anymore lessons with the boy. The computer beeped suddenly, thankfully offering a distraction for the medic to latch on to.
"Ratchet, Decepticon ambush. The Cylinder is at risk. We require backup." Optimus announced, sounding distracted, and Ratchet turned to Bulkhead after inputting the correct coordinates into the Groundbridge.
"Backup is what I'm built for." The Wrecker said as he shared a look with Miko, excitement returning to her hazel eyes. He smirked the girl, feeling his mood lift as well. It had been awhile since he'd last seen that look.
"Go bend some fenders Bulk!" Miko called after him as the Autobot disappeared through the Groundbridge with a parting wave. She smiled sadly to herself as she stared at the portal. Sneaking after the Bots just didn't seem as much fun without Jack there to stop her.
"I have an important mission for you too, Miko." Ratchet stated and she looked up at him in disbelief.
"Really?" Her eagerness quickly fell when she spotted the mop in Ratchets' hand. "Ugh." She groaned as she took the mop, sighing in disappointment as Ratchet turned away with a satisfied grin. 'Okay, I have two choices here. I can either do chores or watch Bulkhead kick Decepticon grill.' She thought to herself for a moment before tossing the mop with a scoff and running down the stairs. It was a no-brainer.
'Whoa' didn't even begin to describe the scene she stumbled upon. She spotted Arcee in the distance fighting against Breakdown; she was totally kicking his tailpipe. Bumblebee was doing pretty much the same with a Vehicon. Then there was Optimus, who was fighting against Knock Out and he was... not exactly winning. Miko cringed in sympathy as the Prime took a kick to the face that sent him skidding back several feet.
Finally there was Bulkhead. Her guardian was making scrapmetal out of some poor Vehicon who had the misfortunate of fighting the Wrecker. She watched in awe as he sent one of his wrecking ball-like maces slamming into the Cons' chest, knocking lose some metal which smashed into the ground with a earth quaking tremor. Ooh, that Vehicon was done. Miko grinned until she realized that the Con was starting to fall backwards, directly over her.
"Uh-oh." She ran, barely escaped being squashed, and took cover behind a rock before the others could see her. She did not want to get sent back to base now. Miko watched as Optimus finally gained the upper hand on Knock Out and threw the Con away from him, not doubt nicking the Decepticon's precious paintjob. She sniggered at that thought.
"Autobots, stand your ground! The artifact must not fall into enemy hands." The Prime stated before moving to attack an advancing Vehicon. Miko looked around, deciding that getting the cylinder thingy back to base might just save her from another lecture. She found that it was sitting in the center of the battlefield, just waiting to be plucked up by the Cons.
She saw Arcee try to make a grab for it, only for Knock Out to tackle her into the ground. He then charged towards the cylinder but Bulk intercepted him, knocking the sports car back. Breakdown appeared and grabbed Bulkhead from behind, which was totally cheating in her opinion. Miko took her chance, running out from cover and over to the cylinder. Bringing up her cellphone, she called Ratchet, her breath coming in fast due to adrenaline.
"Ratchet, come in!" She yelled, trying to make her voice heard over the sound of clashing metal and blaster fire.
"Miko? This is an emergency channel, we need to keep it open for the Auto– Wait, where are you?" He asked and scoffed, where else would she be? Definitely not mopping, that's for sure.
"Duh, I'm with the thingamabob." She answered, looking back at the metal thing she was leaning against. Huh, now that she got a pretty good look at it, it was kinda cool.
"Thingamabob… you mean the Data Cylinder?!" He shouted and she rolled her eyes. 'Way to be quick on the uptake Ratchet.'
"Yes! Can you 'bridge it out of here?" She asked before ducking her head to protect it from some nearby debris.
"I'll reactivate arrival coordinates." He answered and Miko looked over the thingamabob to see the green portal open up yards away.
"Dude, can't you open it any closer?" She hissed.
"Supply coordinates." Was the medic's terse reply.
"Uh, fifty yards?" She guessed.
"Precise coordinates." He growled back and Miko was about to respond with equal snark when a hunk of metal flew by, just missing her by a few feet. Deciding she didn't want to get crushed, she hurriedly tucked her phone away and tried to push the cylinder over towards the Groundbridge, grunting from the effort. The hunk of metal didn't give an inch, much to her frustration. Miko backed up several feet and ran forwards, delivering a sidekick and ending up flat on her back.
She must have done something though, because the thingamabob began to make a loud clicking noise before the frontend folded open. An ominous whirling sound echoed from the cylinder as the red light at its head began to grow brighter.
The sound attracted the attention of those closest to it and Bulkhead turned to see Miko right next to the thingamabob. Panic over took him. He didn't know what the thing did, but there was a chance it could hurt Miko. His processor brought up an image of Jack's broken body, he could practically see the kid laid out before his optics. And the haunting memory was more than enough to get him moving faster than he'd done in a very long time.
"Miko!" He charged towards her, forgetting about Breakdown for a moment, which proved to be a big mistake. The Con swung one of his hammers at his back, knocking him forwards and onto the ground, right in front of the thingamabob. He shook his helm and looked up, instantly looking for his charge. A bright flash of red overtook his vision before everything went black.
MEMORY FILES DOWNLOAD AT 34%...
"What did you just say?" 5T-3V3 growled as he glared at a soldier reporting in from the latest skirmish against the Autobots. They were currently based in a temporary camp, their unit primarily acting as support for any squadrons out in the field. 5T-3V3 was in charge of the unit, which consisted mostly of freshly made Vehicons.
"Lord Megatron was overpowered by–" The Vehicon never finished his sentence. 5T-3V3 stood over the fallen body, blaster smoking slightly from the shot he'd just unloaded into the Drone's chassis.
"You." He said sternly, pointing at the only Vehicon in the room who had flinched at the unexpected reaction. While flinching in itself was a weak characteristic, it meant that the Vehicon possessed a personality chip. This soldier should be smart enough to give him a less infuriating answer. "Explain, and please, don't try my patience. I am no mood for any form of stupidity."
"S-Sir, this Drone saw what appeared to be the enemy, Optimus Prime, deliver a powerful blow against Lord Megatron. This Drone is unsure sure of Lord Megatron's c-condition as he fell into a deep ravine." He paused here, digits fidgeted slightly. "O-Our scanners showed n-no life signal when we searched for him, s-sir." The Vehicon stuttered nervously as two Basic Drones silently moved the deactivated Con out of their current command center. It's frame would be put to better use as spare parts for injured soldiers.
"...And what of the Autobots, surely they would have searched the ravine?" He asked after a long klick, turning away from his soldiers. It didn't escape his notice how the Drone's stance slouched slightly, clearly relieved to live another sol. Definitely a Personality Drone then. Odd, he hadn't been aware that there any serving in this unit. The PD must be newly transferred.
"The Prime did not escape the battle unscathed, sir. Lord Megatron dealt him a fatal blow. The Autobots were more concerned with getting their leader medical attention than searching for Lord Megatron." The Personality Drone answered and 5T-3V3 turned to address his troops.
"There is a good chance that Lord Megatron has already contacted HQ and left the ravine through means of a Groundbridge. However, I want to be certain our Lord is safe. Three of you will accompany me and search the ravine. Soldier, what's your designation?" He asked the PD, who promptly saluted in response.
"J4-M35, sir." The Drone responded with a little more confidence. 5T-3V3 nodded before ordering the best two scouts in the unit to come forwards for the mission. He dismissed the other Vehicons and motioned for J4-M35 to lead them to where he'd last seen the former gladiator.
It took half-a-breem to reach the location where the evidence of a hard fought battle awaited them. Burn marks from blaster fire littered the area, greyed frames were scattered across the battlefield, more Vehicons than Autobots, and freshly spilt Energon glowed at him tauntingly. At the edge of the area was a gaping maw, a trench that ran deep through Cyberton's surface. 5T-3V3 narrowed his optics as he realized they were near the old mines that Lord Megatron had shutdown hundreds of vorns ago. If their Lord was still here, and was fatally injured, he might've taken refuge in one of the mines to recover.
"We'll split into two groups to search for Lord Megatron. Stay off the comlinks unless you find him or if it's an emergency." He ordered, receiving a chorus of yes sir's. in response. Taking one of the Basic Drones with him, J4-M35 headed in the opposite direction with his own partner.
"Sir, why didn't we just call HQ to see if Lord Megatron had returned there?" The Vehicon asked as they drove over the destroyed wasteland that had long since been uninhabited.
"What's your designation, soldier?"
"8R-14N, sir."
"As a supporting unit based so close to the battlefront, the standing order is to avoid using long distance transmissions, except for emergencies. That's because we are close enough for the Autobots to pickup and hack any outgoing transmissions and could either discover our location or spy on us." He explained, while scanning their surroundings. "Now let's hurry, the Autobots have most likely sent out a squadron in hopes of finding Lord Megatron injured."
The rest of the mission was continued in silence. It wasn't until nightfall when they finally found a sign of Lord Megatron's status.
It was 8R-14N who spotted the trail of Energon that lead into a dilapidated mine. But it was 5T-3V3 who noticed that they weren't the first to have found the trail first. Three different sets of pedeprints led into the cave, their pace quick. He transformed his servo into blaster mode, took the lead, and told 8R-14N to keep his optics open.
As they traveled deeper into the planet, 5T-3V3 heard the sounds of gunfire and the familiar ring of Lord Megatron's fusion cannon. They carefully but quickly advanced forwards, and he discreetly glanced past the tunnel wall, immediately taking in the sight before them. Three Autobots had Lord Megatron pinned down behind a pile off rocks. As they were still undiscovered, 5T-3V3 took careful aim, his patience and subtle approach earning a direct hit in one of the Autobot's chassis.
The Autobots rounded on their comrade, and the smallest one of their group, a blue two-wheeler femme shouted in anger before returning fire. 5T-3V3 ducked, the shot nicking his shoulder and he turned around just in time to see 8R-14N fall forwards, his helm now gone. He dove towards Lord Megatron as the Autobots retreated to their own cover, barely dodging the warlord's blasts as they dragged the injured mech with them to safety.
When they shot back, Lord Megatron crouched down, giving 5T-3V3 a clear view of his leader's injuries. The side of his helm had been bashed in slightly, a trail of Energon leaking down onto his faceplates and dripping into his right optic, effectively half-blinding him. It was his chassis that had suffered the worst damage though. A decent sized burn mark rested near his spark chamber, the metal twisted and pinched in several places, the wound pouring out the mech's precious Life Blood.
"My comlink is ruined." The leader of the Decepticons revealed as he gestured to his damaged helm, explaining why the mech hadn't called for a Groundbridge or assistance. "The Autobots have tried to call for reinforcements, but the compositions in this mine seems to be disrupting their signals."
"Meaning my comlink is useless as well." 5T-3V3 surmised and Lord Megatron nodded. This was his first time actually meeting the mech. Of course he had seen the warlord in battle or when he gave speeches, but he'd never actually talked to the ex-gladiator before. It was a little overwhelming.
"Precisely, so it would be best to finish this fight quickly." The silver mech said before glancing over their cover to gauge how the Autobots were faring. 5T-3V3 studied his leader's wounds, realizing that they had to be taking their toll on Lord Megatron. 'How does he still have any Energon left?' He thought morbidly as he spotted the numerous puddles surrounding them.
He fired more fiercely at the Autobots, determined not to fail his leader in such a critical moment.
Miko felt like crying, she really did.
They'd already lost Jack, maybe forever; she didn't want to lose Bulkhead too. She sat on the balcony over hanging Ratchet's lab, legs tucked close to her chest, wishing somebody could comfort her. The funny thing was, only two people could make her feel better her now, and both of them were the ones in trouble.
It was moments like these, where they hadn't gotten past the closecalls yet, and she was stuck wondering if everything was going to turn out okay, was when she missed Jack the most. Even if he was the biggest killjoy she'd ever met, Jack still had this way about him that made things seem okay.
Bulk didn't stir from where he was laying down in the medical bay. From what Ratchet had said, he was basically in a coma. Miko didn't like seeing her best friend so still, not when she knew he should be fighting Cons or dune bashing and rocking out with her. Her head shot up as she got an idea and ran off to get her guitar, if there was one thing that was going to wake Bulkhead up, it would be their favorite jam.
Optimus watched the girl run over to the children's couch, optics dull as he took in the state of his Wrecker. Bulkhead's deterioration into this unresponsive state was hitting the team hard. The fire that had renewed in Arcee and Bumblebee after yesterday's failed rescue attempt seemed to be snuffed out. The femme leaned against the back wall, facing the opposite direction of everyone else. Bumblebee was huddled near Bulkhead's berth, the young scout staring down sadly at his friend.
Ratchet was perhaps the worst. His old friend stood still and silent, having known that this catatonic state was inevitable from the moment his scans showed Bulkhead's neural network being rewritten. It didn't ease the pain any though. Optimus was sure that thoughts or what he could have done differently to help Bulkhead were running thought Ratchet's processor at that very moment. The Medical Officer no doubt felt somewhat responsible for the Wrecker's ill health.
As Optimus looked back at Bulkhead, his thoughts turned to Jackson, the boy's body too still, resting in an internal slumber. The Prime had taken to harboring Jackson's body in his personal chambers, Ratchet having built a cooling container to keep the body from decomposing even more. He wanted to bury the child with his parents, certain that Jackson would've wanted it that way.
But Optimus still hadn't told the others of Jackson's condition, not even Agent Fowler, who had every resource available to him searching for the boy and any sign of MECH. He'd planned on informing Agent Fowler, as well as everyone else, about Jackson's fate this evening, but that decision had been waylaid by toady's encounter with the Decepticons and Bulkhead's resulting condition.
Now, looking down at the Wrecker, Optimus was beginning to realize that he wouldn't be revealing the truth anytime soon.
The Prime silently watched with solemn optics as Miko returned to her earlier post, her musical instrument in her hands. She stood over Bulkhead with a hopeful expression resting on her faceplates and Optimus felt his spark pulse with dread. He tried hard not to envision how she'd look once she inevitably found out about Jackson. The girl strummed the guitar, the musical chord loud and amplified, ringing throughout the silent base like a death knell.
Bulkhead did not stir.
He saw the girl's shoulders slump, the guitar lose in her hands, almost as if she'd lost the strength to hang onto it. A whimper escaped her and he saw Arcee move, ready to comfort Miko as the girl started to break down.
"Brrrrnggggh!" Bulkhead shouted suddenly as he sat up and mimed playing an invisible guitar. "Oh man, I love that song!" The cheers that welcomed the Wrecker's revival nearly deafened Optimus for a moment. He smiled along with the others, standing in the back next to Arcee as Bumblebee crowded their awakened friend.
"I think this is a good sign Optimus." Arcee muttered as she smiled at Miko, who was brushing away tears as she hugged Bulkhead's servo. "We'll find Jack soon, I just know it."
Optimus said nothing, unwilling to ruin the small bit of happiness his men had been granted.
MEMORY FILES DOWNLOAD AT 52%...
Captain, he didn't think he would ever make that rank, not with the hundreds of other soldiers competing for the spot. 5T-3V3 stood proudly in front of the Decepticon ranks that were lined up below him, spying D4-V1D among the crowd. The idiot actually waved at him before nudging the BD next to him, no doubt bragging about how he was 'best friends' with the new Captain of the entire Vehicon division.
He let his optics observe the higher deck, where the ranked officers of his faction were standing.
He spotted Commander Starscream at the front, but it was obvious he didn't care much for the ceremony as seemed to be more focused on casting glares around the room. The Communications Officer, Soundwave, stood away from the others, silent, but ever attentive. Lieutenant Dreadwing stood out in comparison to the others, his various scars a sign of his proud nature as a warrior. Knock Out, the vain Medical Officer, was preening at his reflection and paying little attention to anything else. Finally there was Shockwave, the Chief Scientific Officer, who stood just as silently as Soundwave.
5T-3V3 turned his attention to Lord Megatron as the larger mech stepped onto the elevated platform, his own battle scars showing just as proudly, if not more so, than Dreadwing's.
"My fellow Decepticons, we are here to inaugurate and recognize the greatest fighter among you!" The former gladiator announced and the troops of Vehicons cheered in response. "So it is with great honor that I bestow the rank of Captain onto this mech. May the Decepticons flourish with his guidance and experience." The warlord continued over the crowd as he approached 5T-3V3 with a simple looking medal in his servos.
It was a badge of office, a silver Decepticon insignia that he would wear proudly until his spark was extinguished.
"I remember you." Lord Megatron said suddenly, the badge still in his hand, speaking normally so that the others could not hear. "You were the Vehicon that aided me in that mine long ago." 5T-3V3 nodded, surprised that his superior had recognized him. "You are a Personality Drone, yes?"
"Yes sir." He answered stoically. "Thank you for the promotion Lord Megatron, I will not let you down." The warlord gave him a dark and 5T-3V3, for a short moment, felt his spark pulse.
"For your sake, you'd better not."
So I've created two types of Drones in this fic. The Personality Drones (PDs) and the Basic Drones (BDs). Personality Drones are, obviously, Vehicons with personality chips. Eventually, as the war got worse, the Decepticons couldn't get the materials to create anymore PDs thus, the BDs were born. They're basically mindless machines, behaving like the general human consensus of how robots should act.
Jack is unlocking all of his memories from oldest to newest, meaning he has to go through all of 5T-3V3's/Steve's memories first. He doesn't know that they're not technically his memories, since he hasn't remember that he used to be Jack yet, so he believes all of the memories are his own. It's complicated, but let's just say that this process leads to some trouble in the next chapter.
Doing a POV from Miko's perspective was odd. Especially since I really don't like her. Yep, that's right, I'm a Miko hater. I actually think I did a pretty good job with her. So yeah, kudos to me.
–Hexalys
