AN: And here's Red Alert! *grins* And some more information about Prowl's past.

new old faces

When Red Alert arrives in Iacon, he's not expecting to be greeted by Prowl and Optimus Prime.

Optimus, yes. He is, after all, to be the security officer for the base. Once Red Alert got word that Iacon was housing an ops team, he's expected the call. He just wasn't expecting that team to be Prowl's.

Honestly, he never anticipated seeing the mech again. And considering some of the shit they caused in the Academy, that would have been in the best interest of the Autobot cause. Between Red Alert's paranoia and Prowl's cunning, the two of them had gotten away with far more than they really should have.

He lets Optimus guide him around the base, taking mental note of all the various weaknesses in security. For a moment, he wonders how two highly suspicious and paranoid mechs like Prowl and Jazz have managed to stay in such a low-security place for so long. He puts the thought aside and keeps going.

Eventually, Optimus cuts him loose to get settled in, leaving him and Prowl alone. For a moment, the two simply stare at each other. Suddenly, Prowl smiles.

"Good to see you again, Red."

Red Alert can't help but crack a grin. "Good for us. Bad for them." he quips. Prowl chuckles at that. Red Alert continues. "So – does your team leader know that we know each other?"

"Of course he does." Prowl never loses that smile. "I don't keep secrets from him."

"So, you've told him."

"He figured it out the same way Mirage figured out about my battle computer. They're ops. I don't have to spell these things out for them."

"Speaking of." Red Alert motions to the scar on the side of Prowl's helm. "What happened?"

"Knife to the helm. Took it out."

Red Alert blinks. "And you survived that?" he demands. "You are damned lucky."

Prowl's smile morphs into a smirk. "I think the fact that it wasn't fully connected anymore had a lot to do with it. Bare basics, remember? To give it the impression of being connected?" Red Alert snorts at that. Prowl continues. "I don't believe any of our modifications ever made it into my medical files."

"Of course not. First Aid owed me a few favors." Red snaps. "You know if they make you install a new one, I don't think that trick of yours is going to work again."

"Probably not." Prowl admits. "They've come a long way since the Academy. I could give it a try, but I'd probably wind up glitching more than just the computer." Red Alert nods. Prowl merely inclines his helm. "I can show you to your quarters."

"Show me yours first." Red Alert sighs. "Seriously, how you and Jazz tolerate this place –"

"The fact that Iacon is primarily civilian does afford us some level of protection." Prowl replies mildly. "But you're right. We really should have anticipated this, especially after Tyger Pax." He sighs. "We don't actually have team quarters yet. Perhaps you can help us out with that."

"How are you split up?"

"Me, Jazz, and Blaster are sharing, Blue is with the Twins, Mirage and Hound are together, and Bee is with Jumper."

Red Alert does the calculations. "Blue is a new member. We'll have to accommodate for him. He's getting his adult upgrades tomorrow, right?" A nod. "Okay, that'll make things a little easier. Are you anticipating the Twins or Blaster joining the team?"

"Blaster, yes, the Twins, no." Prowl says dryly. "I imagine Blue will be spending more time with the Twins than he does with us during off-hours."

"Okay. That makes the job a little simpler. I'll find a security set-up for seven regardless." They stop just outside of the general quarters. "Prowl – what are you going to do if they make you take a new computer?"

Prowl flicks his doorwings in a dismissive gesture. "I don't imagine they will. Prime knows I've done all my planning so far without one. Gunner is happy with my work, and so is Jazz. That's really all that matters, and barring anything drastic, I don't see Prime willing to disrupt a working setup."

"You're going to paint an even bigger target on your back than there already is."

"Perhaps. But I can handle that. I won't get my team killed."

"You won't get Jazz killed." Red Alert says pointedly. Prowl merely shrugs. Red sighs. "Fine, whatever. I'll see you around then." With that he heads off to find his new quarters.

Prowl waits until he's out of audio range before speaking. "How long were you planning on following me?"

Jazz comes to stand by his side and chuckles. "Yeah, well, ya knew Ah was listenin'." He nudges him with his shoulder. "Confirmed a suspicion of mine, though. Couldn' figure out how a battle computer glitches as badly as yours did, and not get fixed, unless you did it on purpose."

Prowl smiles. "Like I said, I don't really have to spell anything out for you, do I?"

"Nah, mech. Not anythin'." He loops his arm around Prowl's and guides him towards the rec room. "Let's get some energon, yeah?" Prowl smiles and lets him take the lead.

/-/

Over the next few days, Red Alert begins installing his new security measures. He's only mildly surprised to have Jazz watch him as he does it. He doesn't talk. He just watches and helps when Red Alert asks him to. It's actually quite unnerving to have that laser focus directed at him.

On the second day of this, Red Alert breaks the silence. "I'm guessing you know by now that Prowl is my friend."

"Yep." Jazz hands him a laser drill and takes a step back out of the way. Red Alert crouches on the ground and begins installing the hardware for an electronic trip wire. It's a passive system that can read spark signatures, so it's installed at the main entrance. This will be the first line of defense for the base. Any spark that's registered as unfriendly or hidden by a spark dampener will set off the next line of defense. Jazz watches him work. "An' Ah know th' two of ya screwed wit Prowl's computer back in the Academy."

Red Alert grimaces. "So you were listening. I was wondering about that." He glances up at the visored mech. "Prowl asked me to. I generally don't make it a habit to screw around with processors."

"Ah know he did." Jazz says mildly. "Prowler has a hell of a lot of loyalty, even back when he had no team ta be loyal to. Ah appreciate that."

"And?"

"An' if there's somethin' that he did because of that loyalty tha' might get him hurt now, Ah need ta know about it. He protects mah team. It's mah job ta protect him."

Red Alert snorts at that. "Let's face it, Jazz – you aren't protecting Prowl because it's your duty. You can at least admit to that much."

Jazz nods. "Maybe. But ya ever think that some things are better left unspoken? Ya know, giant targets an' all that."

Understanding flashes across Red Alert's face. He decides to answer the first question instead of pressing the matter. "It's only a problem if they make Prowl install a new one. Those kinds of computers require pretty extensive programming that I don't know a lot about, but there's a reason everyone in tac uses them. Prowl would be the first."

For a long moment, Jazz just stands there considering as Red Alert finishes installing the hardware. He pulls out a connector from his forearm and plugs it into the hardware before initiating the download for the software. Finally, the visored mech smiles.

"Point taken." With that he turns and walks away.

Red Alert just shrugs and returns to his work. "Strange mechs."