Towerling

Chapter 29

Name


A few deca-cycles passed before the whispers and glares began to die down again. During that time, Mirage made himself as scarce as possible, preferring to travel the halls when he was certain no one would be around and asking Jazz to assign him patrols outside of the base with mechs he knew held no ill will towards him. This led to him spending more time with Bumblebee, Hound, and, surprisingly, Sunstreaker.

Cliffjumper still accused him of being a traitor, though it seemed as if less mechs were eager to jump to the same conclusion. Those who were more eager to believe the Mini-Bot had already been transferred to another outpost, and Mirage had a sneaking suspicion those transfers may have been because of Jazz's "unofficial" access to the Autobot rosters. Jazz said he was being paranoid when he had asked, but Mirage still suspected Jazz's involvement.

The more time passed, the more the Autobots who had always been in the same unit with Mirage tuned out Cliffjumper's accusations. They didn't treat Mirage any friendlier than they had before, some of them still turned off by the lofty demeanor he still exuded, but Mirage was fine with that. In no way was he about to tell another mech to accept him.

The only mech Mirage had yet to encounter was Bluestreak. Bluestreak had remained elusive after his panic attack on the battlefield. Mirage had heard that he had been transferred to an outpost where Rung was currently stationed; others (mainly Sideswipe) said that Ratchet had locked him up in the med-bay to dissect his processor and make him an emotionless drone.

No one believed Sideswipe, as they rightly should.

When Mirage saw Bluestreak again, he honestly didn't know how to react. He was walking towards the entrance of the base, preparing to leave for the patrol he had been assigned, when he found Bluestreak standing at the entrance. He paused, watching the Praxian silently stare out the open doors of the base, before deciding to casually approach Bluestreak.

Bluestreak turned towards him when he purposely made a noise to warn the other mech he was coming. Bluestreak's door-wings fluttered slightly, but they lacked the usual enthusiasm they usually had. "Hey."

"Hello." An awkward silence spawned between them. Mirage vented, and Bluestreak's door-wings continued to stiffly shift up and down. "I see you are…here."

"Yeah." Bluestreak's door-wings froze, and he slowly blinked. "Are you ready for patrol?"

It was Mirage's turn to blink. "I am sorry?"

"Patrol?" Bluestreak's optics lit up, and he slightly smiled despite Mirage's lack of response. "Jazz didn't tell you, did he? Ratchet finally caught up to the Twins. I'm your patrol partner for today."

Mirage slowly nodded. He would have to speak to Jazz later about the lack of warning for the change. "I see. Well, shall we begin?"

Bluestreak nodded back at him and led the way out of the base. They both shifted into their alt-modes, and Mirage took the lead as he had practically memorized all the routes around the base. Bluestreak was abnormally silent the entire time; the only indication of his presence was the constant hum of his engine behind Mirage.

It was…strange for the mech to be so silent. Even Mirage, who was usually fine with silence, found the silence a little disconcerting. While he wasn't one for much talking, his usual partners would at least say something mid-way through their patrol.

However, Bluestreak remained completely silent up until a few joors later when Mirage stopped on the outskirts of the area. He silently transformed and scanned the area as Mirage examined a set of tracks going off the usual trail. "Doesn't seem like anybody's around."

"Someone has been here." Mirage bent down and scanned the tire tracks leading away from the base. They didn't appear to match any of the treads he usually saw in this are, but even his experience from hunting turbofoxes didn't make him an expert at identifying tire marks. That was Hound's area of expertise.

"I'll call it in to Red Alert. Just in case it was one of us."

Mirage nodded and gestured for Bluestreak to follow him. Bluestreak silently trailed after him as he walked along the trail looking for other signs of trespassing. His right hand clenched and unclenched in preparation of a surprise attack, and he periodically scanned the area with his stronger sensors for any heat or EM signatures.

"Did he die?"

If he hadn't had his audials dialed up, he might have missed the hesitant question. Mirage stopped and turned to face Bluestreak, who stared back at him with grave optics. "Excuse me?"

"Did he die?" Bluestreak's door-wings erratically fluttered for a moment before suddenly freezing. "The…the Seeker? The one who…"

Mirage frowned as Bluestreak trailed off again. "Yes."

Bluestreak's optics flashed with an emotion that Mirage found surprising. It was similar to the disgust he had seen on Cliffjumper's face every day since that day on the battlefield. Unlike Cliffjumper though, the disgust didn't seem to be directed at Mirage. "Why did you help him?"

Mirage glanced around the area and gestured towards an outcropping not far from them. Bluestreak obliged, and they ducked behind it, hidden from sight and less vulnerable to attack. When they had settled, Mirage turned back to Bluestreak and found the Praxian's kibble flared up behind him in a stiff arc. "At the time, I found it to be the right decision."

"He was a Decepticon." Bluestreak's mouth twitched as if he had tasted something foul. "And a Seeker. He…he had probably killed hundreds of people!"

"He was dying." Mirage sighed. "He was in pain and alone, and he only wanted the comfort of another as he died. I could not in good conscience deny him such a thing."

"You knew him?"

"Yes."

"What was his name?"

Mirage's frown deepened. He couldn't figure out the motivation behind Bluestreak's questions as the younger mech's expression seemed to constantly twitch. His expression now seemed almost like one of pain. "Brigade."

"How did you know him?"

"He was the trine mate of my friend before the war." Pain was replaced by confusion, and Bluestreak's door-wings lost their rigid posture for a moment. Mirage continued. "They were both drawn into the Decepticon cause back then, honestly believing in what Megatron advocated."

"Why?"

Now Mirage's confusion was too much for him to continue. "Why are you asking me these questions?"

"Please." Mirage took a step back at the crack in Bluestreak's voice. Bluestreak took a deep breath, and his face twitched back to an expression of neutrality. "I need to know."

Mirage waited a moment, watching Bluestreak's door-wings erratically quiver. For all his begging, it honestly didn't seem like Bluestreak wanted to know the answers. Mirage lifted a hand to rub the center of his chest, feeling Solaris's crystal suddenly brush against his spark. "I do not know the details, but they only wanted everyone to be treated equally. They learned quickly that the Decepticons had changed, and my friend—"

"What was his name?"

Mirage paused. His glossa felt as if it had suddenly swollen to twice its size, and he almost ended the strange conversation then and there. Bluestreak's desperate optics made his shuddering spark even more painful, and he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Solaris…her name was Solaris."

Bluestreak gravely nodded, and Mirage felt his spark squeeze a little more when he continued. "She was killed when she refused to kill an Autobot."

Bluestreak's frame jolted, and Mirage had a flash of concern when the younger mech nearly lost his balance. Bluestreak lifted his hands to cup his optics, and he took in a few deep breaths before he was able to look at Mirage again. His optics glinted in obvious pain now. "This isn't helping like Rung said it would."

"I'm sorry," Mirage blurted out before he stopped to think. Bluestreak shook his head and covered his optics again. "I'm not sure what Rung suggested for you to do, but…not all Seekers are evil beings sparked to kill."

Mirage fell silent as Bluestreak's door-wings twitched. Bluestreak still didn't remove his hands from his optics, not even when he gave in and leaned against the outcropping. A part of Mirage said to give the mech privacy to work through the obvious issues he had, but the more logical part reminded Mirage of the potential threat in the area. As a compromise, Mirage turned away from Bluestreak and ignored the hitching vents that came from behind him.

Eventually, Bluestreak calmed down, and Mirage turned back around when he heard Bluestreak shuffling around. It was obvious that Bluestreak was still upset, but he hid it behind the smile he usually wore. "Sorry about that. Rung said I should I talk to you about the event that sent me into a panic attack since you were there too. He suggested that learning the full details would help me understand things a little more and maybe even help me be able to begin moving on from what happened in Praxus."

"Did it?"

Bluestreak's smile fell. "I don't know. I still can't forgive the Decepticons for what they did—I don't think they deserve forgiveness. But seeing that Seeker and hearing that some of them refused to do what Megatron ordered them to do…I don't know. Maybe it helps a little? I'm sorry about what happened to your friend though. She didn't deserve that."

Mirage nodded, unable to speak. Bluestreak's kibble fluttered in a way that appeared more normal for him. He hummed. "By the way, Red answered my call. Apparently, Sideswipe and Hot Rod went joyriding yesterday when they were supposed to be on patrol. He also said he was happy Prowl finally acknowledged that Hot Rod needed to be transferred somewhere else before both he and Sideswipe destroyed the base. He got shipped out this morning to join Ultra Magnus's team at the outpost in Polyhex. It's too bad he left so early; I had planned on telling him all about…"

Bluestreak continued to babble even as Mirage gestured for them to transform and finish their patrol. Mirage only listened to him with half an audial, instead replaying their conversation. That had been the first time that Mirage had said Solaris's name aloud since he had received her crystal, let along told another mech what happened to her. It still pained him to think about her, but it was no different than the pain Bluestreak kept bottled up inside.

So many people hadn't deserved to die, including all the innocent lives lost in Praxus, but at this point, it didn't matter who deserved what. Things happened, and they had to continue living the messed up lives they had been dealt.